Letter from Evelyn Mitzman of the B'nai B'rith to Rabbi Dr L. Gerhard Graf of the Cardiff New Synagogue, Cardiff, 1958

Disgrifiad

A letter from Evelyn Mitzman, the Secretary of B'nai B'rith the District Grand Lodge of Great Britain and Ireland, to Rabbi Dr L. Gerhard Graf, the Minister of the Cardiff New Synagogue (now known as the Cardiff Reform Synagogue), detailing the plans of the B'nai B'rith to establish a Lodge in Cardiff. She proposes for another meeting to be held and for the details of the members of the Synagogue who would be interested in the new Lodge.

B'nai B'rith UK operates under the umbrella of B'nai B'rith International, which was founded in 1843 in New York to bring together Jews from all branches of the community. It is a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a leader in disaster relief, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a staunch defender of the State of Israel. It acts as the Global Voice of the Jewish Community.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The congregation worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.

Sources:
B'nai B'rith International (https://www.bnaibrith.org/about-us.html#);
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm).

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.