Simon Schama backs calls to protect Europe’s oldest and vulnerable synagogues
Renowned historian urges MPs to help safeguard more than 3,300 shuls across the continent, including two on British soil
Historian Simon Schama is backing calls for MPs to help protect Europe’s oldest and most vulnerable synagogues, after research showed 160 were at “high risk”.
TV presenter Schama, whose five-part BBC series presented ‘The Story of the Jews’ to a national audience in 2013, is presenting the case to save 3,318 historic shuls in Parliament on Thursday.
Most of the synagogues are in central and eastern Europe, but some are in the UK, and attention will focus on those in the highest-risk category.
These are shuls that are deemed to be of national or international importance and whose condition is rated as poor or very bad.
Of those most at-risk, two are in the UK, including the gothic revivalist Merthyr Synagogue in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, built in the 1870s, and the art deco Sunderland Synagogue, built in 1928 to a design by Marcus Kenneth Glass, a Jewish architect.
Merthyr is the oldest shul in Wales but closed due to a declining Jewish population in 1983. It now stands in disrepair, with a hole in its roof. Likewise Sunderland Synagogue fell out of use ten years ago, and is now occupied by squatters.
“They will deteriorate further and could lose their listed status,” said Michael Mail, chief executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, which is applying for Lottery money to help salvage the buildings.
“They are vulnerable to damp and rain and vandalism and there is the risk that ultimately they may have to be torn down. It’s not just about saving the bricks and buildings, but they are a portal into the communities and people that lived there.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
