Muslim group helps save ancient English synagogue

-

A Muslim organization in northern England announced it would raise funds and lobby for the preservation of the last remaining synagogue in Bradford.

The Bradford Council for Mosques recently began working together with the local authority to raise funds for the Bradford synagogue, to ensure the building remains a sacred space for future generations, the Telegraph reported on March 5.

“When the chair of the Bradford synagogue approached the Muslim community for help and assistance towards the maintenance of this building, it was a challenge which didn’t take us long to decide on,” Zulfi Karim, secretary of Bradford Council for Mosques, said.

The building was originally founded in 1880 and is an example of Moorish Victorian Architecture.

At the height of the city’s wool and textile boom many Jewish people came from Europe to settle in Bradford. In recent years the Jewish community in Bradford has been in decline, and the synagogue has been under threat of closure because of a lack of funds. Bradford had a Jewish population of roughly 500 in 2008, according to the BBC.

“We are all working together to save the synagogue with the help of the local authority,”  Rudi Leavor, chair of the Bradford Synagogue, said:

Bradford has more Pakistani residents than any other place in England and Wales, according to a 2012 census. One in every five respondents identified themselves as an Asian or British Asian of Pakistani descent in the survey by the Office for National Statistics.

JTA


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huge Japan Quake Cracked Open Seafloor

-
The March 2011 megaquake off the coast of Japan opened up fissures as wide as 6 feet (3 meters) in the seafloor, a new study finds. The fissures now scar the seafloor where peaceful clam beds once lay, according to Takeshi Tsuji, a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan . Along with seismic studies, the fissures, revealed by manned submersible vehicles that investigated the seafloor after the quake, show how the crust around the quake's epicenter expanded and cracked.
Read more

Index for a million documents on Polish Jewry to go online

-
Researchers of Polish Jewry are set to gain online access to more than 1 million new documents following an agreement signed by the Polish State Archives. Under the agreement signed last week, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland will receive indices to the documents from the Polish archives authority and place them on the website of the online database within one year, a JRI-Poland statement read.
Read more

A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher

-
The largest baking company in the United States will be removing kosher certification from nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA confirmed to JTA that it will be removing the certification. The company produces brands including Arnold, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Freihofer’s and others. Two of its major brands, Entenmann’s and Thomas, will remain certified kosher. So, kosher eaters, your crumb doughnuts and English muffins are still safe. A couple of rye breads also will retain their certifications. “Removing the kosher certification from some of our products was strictly a business-process decision to enable more efficient operations, and it was one we did not make lightly,” Bimbo said in a statement. “Thomas’ and Entenmann’s products as well as Arnold’s and Levy’s Rye Breads will remain kosher-certified. It is important to note that we have heard our consumers’ concerns and are working with kosher certification organizations and discussing alternative solutions.” The c
Read more