Congregation Data |
Name: |
Newcastle United Hebrew Congregation
(the "UHC")
|
Formation: |
The congregation came into being on
1 March 1973, on the merger of the three remaining Orthodox
congregations in Newcastle, as well as three other communal
organisations,(iii) namely:
The respective synagogues of each of the three
congregations (see below) became constituent synagogues of the
UHC and continued to function for some years until they were each
gradually closed and the congregation was centralised in a new purpose-built synagogue.
The establishment of the united congregation
was the result of discussions and negotiations that took place over
several years and followed the signing of a Declaration of Intent by the
presidents of the three congregation in January 1970, assisted by Mr. Nat Rubin, secretary of the United Synagogue in London.(iv) In
December 1972, general meetings were held on the same day by each of the
six existing organisation when it was agreed to wind up each such
organisation by 28 February 1973.(v)
(Note: this was the third instance of the formation of a "Newcastle
United Hebrew Congregation", the first was the
1880
merger and the second was the
1924 merger.
|
Synagogue Address: |
Culzean Park, Graham Park Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4BH, opened in 1986.(vi) |
Previous (Constituent) Synagogues: |
The UHC was
initially served, from 1973, by each of the following constituent synagogues:
-
Leazes Park Road synagogue, of the Newcastle Old Hebrew Congregation,
which closed in 1978;(ix)
-
Lansdowne Terrace synagogue, of the Gosforth & Kenton Hebrew Congregation,
which closed in 1984;(x)
and
-
Eskdale Terrace synagogue, of the Jesmond Hebrew Congregation,
which closed in 1986.(xi)
|
Ritual: |
Ashkenazi Orthodox |
Current Status: |
The congregation is still active. However, the community has witnessed
in recent years a sharp decline in numbers. The present synagogue in Culzean Park is now far too large for
regular Sabbath services. The community are in the process of selling part of the site and consolidating into a new
synagogue and community centre within Lionel
Jacobson House.(xii)
|
Ritual: |
Ashkenazi Orthodox |
Affiliation: |
An unaffiliated provincial congregation under
the aegis of the Chief Rabbi. |
Website: |
https://uhcnewcastle.uk |
Ministers:
(To view a short profile of a minister
- hold the cursor over his name.)
|
Rabbi Shlomo P. Toperoff
- minister in 1973.(xv)
Rabbi Mordechai M. Baddiel
- minister from 1973 until 1995.(xvi)
Rabbi Yisroel Y. Fine
- minister from 1974 until about 1981.(xvii)
Rev. Chaim Ingram
- minister from 1982 until 1987.(xviii)
Rabbi Yehuda L. Black
- minister from 1995 until 2004.(xix)
Rabbi Dovid Y. Lewis
- minister from 2005 until 2011.(xxii)
Rabbi Aaron Lipsey
- minister from 2011 until the present (March 2024).(xxiii)
|
Lay Officers:(xxvi) |
Presidents
1973-1976 - Dr. Lionel Kopelwitz, JP
1976-1979 - David Franks(xxvii)
1979-1982 - Dr. Felix Lustman, JP(xxviii)
1982-1985 - G. Leigh
1985-1988 - A. Summerfield
1988-1991 - A.D. Science
1991-1994 - David Franks
1994-1997 - H. Ross
1997-1998 - D. Simons
1998-2001 - S.D. Pearlman
2001-2004 - H. Ross
2004-2005 - S.D. Pearlman
2005-2008 - V. Gallant
2008-2010 - Dr. Felix Lustman
2010-2013 - M.S.D. Pearlman
2013-2014 - V. Gallant
2014-2015 - H. Ross
|
Vice President
1973-1976 - Nathan Science
Treasurers
1973-1976 - Donald D. Cohen
1976-1977 - Dr. Felix Lustman, JP
Secretaries or Hon. Secretaries
1973 - David Gold & Jack Maurice(xxix) 1973-1974 - J. Gibson
1974-1975 - Mrs. A.J. Embola
1975-1976 - A.D. Science
1976-1979 - M. Ison & F. Seiler
1979-1980 - Mrs. A.J. Embola
1980-1981 - Mrs. M. Cansfield
1981-1982 - Mrs. R. Metcalfe
1982-2006 - Mrs. P. Ashton
2006-2010 - Mrs. B. Levinson
2010-2013 - B. Dennis
|
Membership Data : |
Reports & Surveys(xxxii)
1977 - 460 male (or household) members and
159 female members
1983 - 360 male (or household) members and
180 female members
1990 - 456 members (comprising
233 households, 64 individual male and 159 individual female members)
1996 - 544 members (comprising
361 households, 60 individual male and 123 individual
female members)
2010 - listed as having 200 to
299 members (by household)
2016 - listed as having 100 to
199 members (by household)
|
Committees and other affiliated organisations: |
Among the congregation's committees and
affiliated organisations are the following, established in 1973:(xxxiii)
-
Shechita and Kashrus Committee, which
became the the Kashrus Committee in about 1993;(xxxiv)
-
Education and Youth Committtee (initially
the Education Committee);
-
Burial Committee;
-
Ladies Guild.
|
Charitable Status: |
The United Hebrew Congregation of Newcastle upon Tyne is a registered charity,
number 504336
(standard registration), registered on 22 August 1975.(xxxv) |
Cemetery
Information: |
The Orthodox Community in
Newcastle has three Jewish cemeteries in use since 1973, Hazlerigg,
Heaton and Ravensworth (for details, see
Newcastle Cemetery Information) |