Isle of Wight Jewish Society

Wroxall, Isle of Wight

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The Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, some three to five miles off the southern English coast. It was part of the county of Hampshire until 1890, when it became an independent administrative county (though geographically still considered part of Hampshire). In 1974 it was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan ceremonial county and has been a unitary authority since 1994.

Isle of Wight Jewish Community

Although individual Jews are known to have lived on the Isle of Wight from the late eighteenth century, there is no knowledge of any organised community until the recent establishment of a Jewish Society.

Congregation (Society) Data
Name:	Isle of Wight Jewish Society (IOWJS)
Address:	The Society meets in members' homes, and can be contacted:- attention: Jonathon, email: iwjs.chair@gmail.com, telephone +44 7971 415104 / 07971 415104, based in Cowes, Isle of Wight⁽ⁱⁱ⁾
Current Status:	Active - has Friday night and Sabbath services about every six weeks and meets for the major Jewish Festivals (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Sukkot, Chanukah) and also for Holocaust Memorial Day and New Year for Trees.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾
Date Founded:	July 2005^(iv)
Ritual:	The Society describes itself as "'progressive (e.g. not orthodox)"^(v)
Affiliation:	The congregation has been a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism since June 2021.^(vii) Previously, the Society was listed by the Movement as an associate community,^(viii) although elsewhere the Society described itself as "not affiliated to any particular Jewish organisation".^(ix). The Bournemouth Reform Synagogue acted as a "mother congregation" to the Society.^(x)
Ministers:	None
Website:	None. For contact details see website of the Movement for Reform Judaism - https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/
Membership Data:	National Reports and Surveys:^(xi) 2016 - listed as having under 50 members (by household) Other 2019 - about 30 members^(xii)
Charitable Status:	No information found as to registered charity status.
Registration District:	Isle of Wight (since 1 July 1837) - Register Office website
Cemetery Information:	There is no Jewish cemetery on the Isle of Wight.
Notes & Sources (↵ returns to text above) (i) Reserved. (ii) Communication from Chairman of IOWJS. ↵ (iii) Notice by Chairman of IOWIS to Jewish Small Communities Network. ↵ (iv) Jewish Year Book 2011 ↵ (v) Jewish Small Communities Network website, accessed 16 August 2019. ↵ (vi) Reserved. (vii) Jewish Chronicle report of 2 July 2021 - "Essex and Isle of Wight congregations join Reform". ↵ (viii) Website of Movement for Reform Judaism, accessed 16 August 2019. ↵ (ix) Jewish Small Communities Network website, accessed 16 August 2019. ↵ (x) In a Jewish News article "The Wight stuff" of 11 November 2016, it states that the "Reform Jewish community on the island ......is looked after by the Bournemouth Reform Congregation" ↵ (xi) Reports on synagogue membership in the United Kingdom, published by or on behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and which can be viewed on the website of the Institute of Jewish Policy Research. Click HERE for links to the various reports. ↵ (xii) Notice by Chairman of IOWIS on Jewish Small Communities Network website, accessed 16 August 2019. ↵

List of Reform Judaism Congregations

Jewish Congregations on the Isle of Wight

Jewish Communities of England home page

Page created: 27 November 2014
Page most recently amended: 11 September 2024

Research and formatting by David Shulman

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