A Jewish congregation in Hackney with a history spanning almost 150 years is to close following a huge drop in numbers.
The Hackney and East London Synagogue’s closure follows a recommendation from trustees at the Jewish charity United Synagogue, which had backed the congregation.
The charity’s head of community development, Benjamin Vos, said: “The brass tacks background story is one of membership. Whereas there were almost 500 members 20 years ago, now there are fewer than 200. That is a real strain financially.
“It’s very, very difficult to maintain the financial rationale and have a vibrant community life when your members are not young, and there are fewer of them. Where’s the money coming from? Where’s the energy coming from?”
The congregation was originally based in a Grade II listed building, but this was sold to a Brazilian church in 2009. After that, the congregation moved around in locations throughout the borough.
Vos described how changes in Hackney’s Jewish population and financial pressures prevented them from staying in their original home.
“We investigated and tried different methods. We looked at alternative sites. We ran social programming from the centre with the collaboration of the local community,” he said.
“There were successes, and there was some really good programming, but there wasn’t enough to turn the community around.”
Vos said that Hackney became a place with “multiple thousands” of Jewish residents after the Second World War. However, these residents started moving away from the borough in the following years.
“There are members of Hackney now whose connection to the community…has perhaps only involved one or two institutions. Hackney Synagogue has been the dominant forum for their Jewish social life,” he added.
On Facebook, Vos asked people connected to the congregation to share their memories of the synagogue so he can record its history. Several commenters described weddings and bar mitzvahs they shared with the congregation.
“I want to give people the opportunity to reminisce, to describe the impact that the community and these individuals had on them. I really hope that it will be valuable,” Vos said.
Members have been offered a choice of United Synagogue communities to relocate to.
Featured image credit: Keir Holmes
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