Minute book of the Newport Hebrew Congregation Council from 4 February 1936 to 6 September 1945

Disgrifiad

This book contains the minutes of general and special meetings, and includes balance sheets and accounts. The meetings appear to have been held at the Nathan Harris Memorial Hall.

The first meeting in this minute book is a Council meeting on 4 February 1936 which expressed sympathy on the death of King George V, Lord Reading and the mother of the Chief Rabbi. Those present stood in silence for each as a mark of respect.

Matters discussed during this period included:
• the president and vice-president reporting they had both been advised to take a sea trip for the sake of their health, so they were going to South America for six or seven weeks; deputies would need to be appointed;
• requisition, payment and consecration of additional land for burial;
• educational school attendance;
• representation on other bodies, e.g. Conference of all Jewish organisations in GB and Northern Ireland to consider the convening by the Jewish World Conference in Geneva on August 8th of all Jewish communities throughout the world to deal with the present Jewish position (in the event, the delegates were unable to attend);
• requests for charitable funds, e.g. Royal Gwent Hospital Appeal, Defence Fund, Federation of British Jews;
• only using the hall for Jewish events;
• Reverend Snadow to interview any evacuees and new residents in Newport with a view to them becoming members of the congregation;
• blackout arrangements;
• employment, pay and pension for Reverend Snadow;
• resignation of Mr A Hyams.

The last meeting is a special meeting of the Council on 6 September 1945 (with 13 members present).

Newport Monmouthshire Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1859 by orthodox Jews meeting at a temporary synagogue in Llanarth Street. A synagogue at Francis Street was opened in 1869 and consecrated by the Chief Rabbi Dr Herman Adler in 1871. In 1934 the congregation moved to the Nathan Harris Memorial Hall in Queen’s Hill which was converted to a synagogue. In 1997 this synagogue was closed, and the congregation moved to the Prayer House by the Jewish Burial Ground on Risca Road. Within 20 years the congregation had dwindled to a few members able to attend and this too had ceased to hold services.

Sources:
- “History of our Shul. The First Hundred Years", published by Newport Congregation in 1959;
- Oral history interviews with members of the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, recorded in 2018 by JHASW.

Depository: Gwent Archives.