Photograph of Cardiff Association of Jewish Youth, Cardiff, 1950s

Description

Photograph of Cardiff Association of Jewish Youth, Cardiff, 1950s. Rabbi Maurice Unterman sits in the middle row, centre of the photograph. Rabbi Unterman went on to found the Marble Arch Synagogue, London in 1961. Rabbi Chaim Pearl sits next to Rabbi Unterman in the photograph. Rabbi Pearl was the spiritual leader of the New West End Synagogue in London and later was active in religious and community affairs in the Bronx, U.S. before becoming a scholar and lecturer in Israel. The Association of Jewish Youth was first established as a charity on 31 March 1951 and its objective was to enable young people to achieve a strong social and Jewish identity. However, it's understood that the Cardiff Association of Jewish Youth only lasted for a few years.

The Cardiff United Synagogue was established in 1942 when the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation and the Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation were united into a single organisation. The early years of the Cardiff congregation remain shrouded in mystery, but it is known that a Jewish cemetery was founded in 1841 and a purpose-built synagogue was built for the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation in 1858 in East Terrace. As the congregation outgrew the premises, a new synagogue was opened on Cathedral Road in 1897. In 1889, a group of recent immigrants left the "Englisher shul" to form the "foreigners' shul" formally known as the Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation. Having initially worshipped at Edward Place and Clare Road, the New Congregation moved to purpose-built premises on Windsor Place in 1918. After the 1942 reunification, the Cardiff United Synagogue continued to use both the Windsor Place and the Cathedral Road synagogues until 1955 when the former was sold, and a new synagogue was built on Ty-Gwyn Road in Penylan. The Cathedral Road synagogue was eventually sold in 1988 and the Ty-Gwyn Road synagogue in 2003 with the congregation moving to its current premises in Cyncoed Gardens.

Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card/index.htm;
https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/London/marble_arch/shul_opening.htm;
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/19/world/chaim-pearl-rabbi-and-religious-scholar-76.html;
http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=305963&subid.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.