Congregation Data
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Name:
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Gateshead United Hebrew Congregation(ii)
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Alternative Name:
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Prest Street Synagogue(iii)
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Address:
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79 Prest Street, Gateshead.(iv)
The synagogue
consisted of a flat above a shop.(v)
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Formation:
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The congregation was
reported to have been formed by a splinter
group from the main
Gateshead
Hebrew Congregation (at Redheugh Bridge Road) in
about 1904 (or 1902),
who disagreed with the Eliezar Adler's
somewhat dictatorial leadership of the community and the congregation's
ultra-orthodoxy. They were led by M. Granz and H.S. Myers.(vii)
A level of hostility continued between the two
congregations and in early 1908 a dispute arose between
them regarding two sifrei torah and other religious
items, the case being brought to the Gateshead County
Court for hearing on 3 April 1908. After the Board of
Deputies heard of the dispute, its president, David
Lindo Alexander KC, was invited to arbitrate on the
matter, to avoid further public attention, and the award
was made in favour of the Prest Street congregation,
with each party paying its own costs.(viii)
As further evidence of animosity between the two congregations,
see the letters from each of them to The Jewish
Chronicle in 1910.(ix)
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Final Status:
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The congregation continued
until the mid 1920s.(x)
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Ritual:
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Ashkenazi Orthodox
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Affiliation
and Relationship with Chief Rabbi:
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A congregation was
unaffiliated but under the aegis of the Chief Rabbi.
The congregation tended to be looked upon by the Chief
Rabbi as the legitimate representative of the Gatehead,
probably
due to the Redheugh Bridge Road congregation's unwillingness to accept
his jurisdiction.
Possibly from its existence and certainly by 1910, it
was the only Gateshead congregation recognised
by the Chief Rabbi and represented at the Board of
Deputies.(xi)
During its time, it was also the only Gateshead congregation
authorised by the Chief Rabbi to have a Secretary for Marriages.(xii)
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Ministers
& Readers: (To view a short profile
of a one whose name appears in blue - hold
the cursor over the name.)
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Rev. Hermann Abrahams
- reader from about 1905 until 1906.(xvi)
Rabbi Mendel J. Berman (or Behrman)
- minister in 1905/6.(xvii)
Rev. Morris Brown
- reader from 1906 until about 1909(xviii)
Rev. Jacob Caplan
(or Kaplan) -
from about 1910 until 1924(xix)
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Lay Officers of the
Congregation:
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Unless otherwise stated, the
following data has been extracted from Jewish Year
Books.(xxii)
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Presidents
1905-1906
- H.S. Myers
1906-1909
- M.L. Krawitz(xxiii) 1909-1910
- C. Zuckerman
1910-1912
- M.L. Krawitz(xxiv) 1912-1913
- J. Rothfield
1913-1922
- M. Stein
from 1922
- H.S. Myers
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Treasurers
1905-1906
- A. Shwan
1906-1908
- H.S. Myers(xxv)
1908-1909
- M. Stein(xxvi)
1909-1910
- W. Ernstone
1910-1912
- J. Rothfield(xxvii)
1912-1914
- Joseph Cohen
1914-1917
- M. Kranz
from 1917
- J. Feldstein
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Hon. Secretaries
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1905-1906
- D. Davis
1906-1907
- J. Manof(xxx)
1907-1908
- H. Levene(xxxi) 1908-1909
- H. Zuckerman
1909-1910
- G.H. Rothfield
1910-1911
- A. Mendelsohn & S. Hockerman
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1911-1912
- S. Zuckerman(xxxii) & D. Kranz
1912-1913
- D. Kranz & Moses Summerfield
1913-1915
- J. Summerfield
1915-1917
- J. Feldstein
1917-1922
- H.S. Myers
from 1922
- M. Myers
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