Bournemouth’s Jewish community are committed to continuing their historic ties to the town - The Jewish Chronicle

Popular among holidaying Jews from London, most notably since the turn of the 20th century, Bournemouth quickly found itself with a thriving Jewish population as many who visited simply never left. Over the course of the century, the seaside town’s permanent population grew, reaching a height of around 3,500 in the 1980s. With the rising number of Jews calling Bournemouth home, Jewish amenities and infrastructure went from strength to strength, with three synagogues, one Orthodox, one Reform and one Liberal, a Chabad, a Jewish cemetery, kosher hotels and kosher delis.

In recent years, however, due to an ageing population, Bournemouth’s Jewish population has fallen to roughly 1,600 and with it many of the Jewish establishments have closed down, leaving the remaining Jews with fewer options.

The Water Garden kosher hotel in Bournemouth (Image: The Water Garden Hotel)[Missing Credit]

Former rabbi of the Reform shul, Maurice Michaels, said: “When I was a kid coming down to Bournemouth on holiday, there were about a dozen Jewish hotels and now there are just two. There were kosher delis and restaurants and now there aren’t. Even a Jewish home for the elderly has closed down.

“The Jewish population of Bournemouth has reduced quite considerably from what it was years ago.”

Despite this, or, quite possibly, as a result of it, the remaining Jews in Bournemouth show an unwavering commitment to maintaining a joyful Jewish future in the seaside town.

A moving shul, a cemented congregation

One place that is testimony to this is the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation (BHC) Orthodox shul, which is Bournemouth’s oldest, having opened in 1905. Located until this week in Wootton Gardens in the centre of the town, it remains the heart and soul of the Jewish community.

Rabbi Alan Lewis told the JC: “The focal point of everything Jewish is the shul... religiously... socially... everything is here.”

Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation Orthodox Synagogue, founded in 1905 (Image: Jewish Small Communities Network)[Missing Credit]

With few spots left to go for kosher food, for a long time the shul has been one of two that consistently offer it throughout the year. The other is the Water Garden hotel, run by Chabad Bournemouth, which offers three-course meals for just £7.50.

The other remaining kosher hotel in the town is The Normandie, but that only sells kosher food to non-guests during the holiday season.

As well as worship and food, BHC offers a great deal to the community, from sporty table-tennis socials to “meet and munch” providing the elderly with affordable meals and company.

But after 120 years on Wootton Gardens, the shul, which had been considering a move for several years, has finally relocated. It had seen a fall in visiting members, many ageing, finding it difficult to walk and living a mile away on the East Cliff. In a lucky coincidence, this is exactly where the Bournemouth Reform Synagogue (founded in 1947) was situated until May this year when its congregation left to move to a smaller building in the suburb of Winton.

The BHC is moving into the Reform’s former premises, and on Sunday, invited the JC along for the final ceremony in its old building.

Sifrei Torah are taken out of the ark for the final time (Credit: Nick Rutter Photography)[Missing Credit]

Wootton Gardens, which had for a long time seen services attract a congregation in the dozens, was now packed to the rafters, with hundreds of members saying their farewells to their 120-year-old home.

It began with a concert, with Hebrew music from Stanmore and Canon Park Synagogue’s cantor Jonny Turgel and former BHC Rabbi Lionel Rosenfeld, who came all the way from Israel. A somewhat conflicted sense of deep remembrance and excited anticipation filled the hall. The day was “bittersweet”, said Rabbi Lewis.

After the concert, the religious ritual began. The synagogue’s Sefer Torah scrolls were picked up by chosen male members, prayers were said and the congregation left the synagogue for the last time.

Rabbi Alan Lewis of the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation (Image: Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation)[Missing Credit]

Just as the procession to the new synagogue began, it began to rain, but it did nothing to dampen the mood. Under the tallitot, the men carrying the Sifrei Torah sang at the top of their lungs, joined by the congregation following behind. As they walked through the streets, passers-by stopped to look, curious what the big occasion was and smiling at the jolliness of the music – some young children even danced to the tune as they passed.

BHC warden Ellard Robberts said: “Bournemouth has a reputation for being very welcoming for Jewish people.”

The Torah procession through Wootton Gardens on the way to their 'new home' in East Cliff[Missing Credit]

As the shulgoers arrived at the new synagogue, shul president Bettina Gould, who, with her team had worked tirelessly to make the move happen, simply said: “Our new home.”

A welcoming town

There is a clear notion in Bournemouth that Jews are part of the furniture of the town.

One dignitary at the BHC ceremony, Bournemouth Mayor Jackie Edwards, said: “They have always been here. We used to have loads of Jewish hotels. They used to spend their holidays here and like lots of people if you spend your holidays somewhere in a place you like, when you retire you decide to move there.”

Torah procession through the streets of Bournemouth (Credit: Nick Rutter Photography)[Missing Credit]

Another dignitary at the ceremony was Tom Hayes MP. He said: “I live very close to where the new synagogue is going to be.

“It’s place where a lot of local Jewish people live and many of them are my neighbours so I spend a lot of time when I’m not in parliament talking to them about what their priorities are.

“They are overwhelmingly about building a community, feeling safe and wanting Bournemouth to be better than it has been. Many have been here for a very long time and remember the town as a thriving place that many would flock to.”

A town-twinning drama and a swastika

Despite everybody who spoke to the JC singing Bournemouth’s praises when it comes to how welcoming it is to the Jewish community, the last few years have seen tensions arise.

One incident was the Green Party-led attempt at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council last year to de-twin with the Israeli city of Netanya.

Conservative councillor and former mayor Lawrence Williams said: “They tried to de-twin. Myself and [another councillor], being the only Jewish councillors, managed to thwart it.

“Today, unfortunately, some anti-Jewish feelings have arisen.”

The Torah carried under a chupah in Bournemouth (Credit: Nick Rutter Photography)[Missing Credit]

In August, CST reported that a visibly Jewish man had been shot with an air rifle by someone in a passing car down Manor Road on the East Cliff – a road which, according to Ellard Roberts, is 50 per cent Jewish – and right next to the new synagogue.

Also in August, Chabad Rabbi Benzion Alperowitz returned home to find a swastika graffitied on his wall. Refusing to be cowed by the rising antisemitism, he said at the time: “We will continue to live as proud Jews here in Bournemouth. I will continue to walk around in Bournemouth together with my kippah on my head. The mezuzah will remain in front of our door.”

A bright future

As with many other towns and cities in the UK, Bournemouth has faced a tough few years when it comes to rising antisemitism post-October 7.

However, in the same fashion as Bournemouth Jews do not let its decreasing amenities get in the way of their optimism, Michaels, the former Reform rabbi, sees a bright future when it comes to the safety of Jews in the town.

“We are very fortunate for a number of reasons,” he explained. “Perhaps the most important is we already had a great relationship with the police long before [the rising antisemitism] started. The relationship was good beforehand and [so when the community now has] problems, we can get them sorted.”

Bournemouth, historically British Jewry's favourite seaside town (Image: Getty)Getty Images

Michaels went on to talk about the relationship between the Orthodox, Reform and Liberal communities in the town. “It has always been very good between us. I am welcomed any time I go into any of the other synagogues. That has been the case ever since I came down here 11 years ago.

“During Covid, Rabbi Ryan Leszner [former BHC rabbi] and I would speak every week about how our people were dealing with things.

“When we were looking to get Bournemouth University to agree with the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the rabbis worked together – and we got it through.

“That has been just one part of the success of the Bournemouth Jewish community.”

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Topics:

Bournemouth

Jewish history

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