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The United Synagogue is a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues, representing the central Orthodox movement in Judaism. With 64 congregations, comprising 40,000 members, it is the largest synagogue body in Europe. The spiritual leader of the union bears the title of Chief Rabbi of Britain and the Empire - a title that bears some formal recognition by the Crown, even though his rabbinical authority is recognized only by slightly more than half of British Jews.

History

The United Synagogue was mandated by an Act of Parliament in 1870, granting formal recognition to a union of three London synagogues forged by Nathan Marcus Adler, who bore the title of Chief Rabbi of Britain. Leaders of the organization included Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, who served as president in 1910.

At the time of its inception, the United Synagogue was the dominant force in Jewish communal and religious organization, though the organization lost some of its hegemony in the 1880s with mass migrations of Jews from Eastern Europe, who brought with them strains of Hassidic Judaism, Reform Judaism and secularism.

In 1887, Jewish community leader Samuel Montagu created the Federation of Synagogues, which worked to unite Orthodox synagogues of Russian and other eastern European migrants living in the slums of East London. Today, the Federation serves 21 synagogues, compared to the United Synagogue's 64. There are also numerous orthodox synagogues in Britain, including Haredi, Chabad, and others, unaffiliated with United Synagogue. In addition, there are congregations of Reform, Masorti and progressive Jews that are not included in the United Synagogue; so that, today, the organization represents about 30 percent of all British congregants. Since 1990, central Orthodoxy has declined from 66 percent to 55 percent of total congregants, though this decline has flattened out in recent years.

Activities

United Synagogue provides a number of religious services to the Orthodox community, including:

• The Tribe youth movement, which offers after-school programs, programs for toddlers, and trips to Israel for youth.
• Young US - programs for young adults.
• A Beit Din (the London Beth Din) - a religious court to decide halakhic matters.
• Certification of Kashrut under the auspices of the London Beth Din.
• Burial services, including the maintenance of several cemeteries.
• Educational material provided by We Believe in Israel, the grassroots initiative of BICOM.

Activities are financed mostly from charitable donations and gifts, and from dues paid by member synagogues. Some revenues are generated from some £80 million in assets and investments (mostly synagogue buildings).

Support for Israel

United Synagogue is an active supporter of Israel. The organization sponsors trips to Israel for members and youth, distributes information packages about Israel from its website, and offers courses in Israeli history and politics and Hebrew. While it generally refrains from direct political action in support of Israel, in October 2014, it urged its members to lobby members of Parliament to oppose a motion to recognize the State of Palestine.

The active support for Israel by United Synagogue and other establishment British Jewish organisations has engendered some criticism. Two organizations - Independent Jewish Voices and Jews for Justice for Palestinians - explicitly seek to be a liberal counterbalance to the position of the United Synagogue and other pro-Israeli Jewish organisations.

See also

• List of chief rabbis of the United Kingdom
• History of the Jews in England

Notes

1. ^ Newman, Aubrey (1976). The United Synagogue, 1870-1970. Routledge & K. Paul. ISBN 9780710084569.
2. ^ Summary Information Return 2013
3. 242552 - UNITED SYNAGOGUE Charity overview
4. ^ Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts year ended 31 December 2013
5. Rocker, Simon (February 19, 2015). "Time to change: we must adapt say shul leaders". The Jewish Chronicle Online. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
6. Graham, David; Vulkan, Daniel (13 May 2010), Synagogue membership in the United Kingdom in 2010, Institute for Jewish Policy Research, archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011, retrieved 3 April 2011
7. "United Synagogue". Jewish Encyclopedia. 1909. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
8. "The Federation of Synagogues". Retrieved 2015-04-28.
9. Graham, David; Vulkan, Daniel. "Synagogue Membership in the United Kingdom in 2010".
10. "United Synagogue". theus.org.uk.
11. "U.K. Jews bid farewell to the teflon rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks". Haaretz. September 1, 2013. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
12. "Wake-up call over UK Palestine vote". thejc.com.
13. Joel Schalit (18 November 2008). "A time to speak out". The guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
14. Keith Kahn-Harris (23 July 2014). "What British Jews really think about the Gaza conflict". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-17.

References

• Apple, Raymond (August 2009). Apple, Raymond (ed.). "Nathan Marcus Adler—Chief Rabbi, by Rabbi Raymond Apple". OzTorah. Retrieved July 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |publisher= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• United Synagogue web site

v t e   United Synagogue
Rabbis and other prominent leaders	Living Rabbi Jonathan Hughes Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis Rabbi Michael Plaskow Historical Rabbi Hermann Adler Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler Asher Asher Rabbi Sir Israel Brodie Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu Rabbi Joseph Hertz Rabbi Solomon Hirschell Rabbi Moses Hyamson Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Communities and synagogues	Current Bury Hebrew Congregation Cardiff United Synagogue Giffnock Synagogue New West End Synagogue Princes Road Synagogue Richmond Synagogue Singers Hill Synagogue Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue Wembley United Synagogue Historical Bayswater Synagogue Blackpool United Hebrew Congregation Dalston Synagogue Dollis Hill Synagogue Great Synagogue of London Severn Street Synagogue
Cemeteries	Brady Street Cemetery Lauriston Road Cemetery West Ham Jewish Cemetery Willesden Jewish Cemetery
Schools	King Solomon High School Michael Sobell Sinai School
Organisation	London Beth Din

• Judaism in England
• Synagogues in London
• Religious organizations established in 1870
• Orthodox Judaism in London