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JCR-UK is a genealogical
and historical website covering all Jewish communities and congregations
throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.
NOTE: We are not the official website of this congregation,
which can be reached by clicking on the logo below.
City of Dundee
The city of Dundee is the fourth largest in Scotland with a
population of over 150,000. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay
on Scotland's east coast. Although traditionally within the county of
Angus (which was also known as Forfarshire), from 1975 to 1996, Dundee was a district
(and the administrative centre) of the now defunct Tayside Region.
Since 1966, the City of Dundee has constituted a self-contained unitary
authority.
St Andrews is a university town with a population of about 17,000, situated 10 miles southeast of Dundee.
The Jewish Community
The Jewish community in
Dundee dates from the 1840s, initially comprised mainly of German Jews attracted
to the city by its textile industry, particularly the jute trade. These early
residents appeared to be largely non-religious and, accordingly, it was not until
the 1870s that a congregation was formed, primarily as a result of the influx of Jews from eastern
Europe,(ii)
and a Jewish cemetery was acquired in 1888.(iii)
At one time Dundee had the largest Jewish community in Scotland, outside Glasgow
and Edinburgh.(iv)

Congregation Data
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Name:
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Tayside and Fife Jewish Community
formerly Dundee Hebrew Congregation until about 2014.(vii)
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Formation, Early
Addresses and Predecessor or Rival Congregations:
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Informal service were first held in 1878 at the home of
L. Fredinni in Hilltown.(viii)
This soon lead, in the same year, to the establishment
of the Dundee Hebrew Congregation and the opening of a synagogue at
123 Murraygate, near the Dundee town centre,
comprising no more than a couple of rented rooms with
capacity for some 22 congregants.(ix)
Within a short time, a split had developed in the
community between the Jews of German origin and those of
Eastern European origin (the "Litvaks"), with the
latter establishing their own congregation at 7 Ward
Road, Dundee, consisting of rented rooms within a block
of warehouses and offices.(x)
By 1882 the "Litvak" congregation had itself split into
two rival congregations, the other being at the home of S. Fridman at 8 Bank Street,
Dundee.(xiii)
It is uncertain as to when the Murraygate congregation
ceased to exist, but it was probably sometime during the
early 1880s.
Relations between the Ward Road and Bank Street
congregations deteriorated to the extent that the parties
went
to court to litigate their dispute, but in 1883, a
compromise was achieved and the two congregations agreed
to reunite to form a single congregation, initially
located at a private house at 50 Barrack Street, Dundee.(xiv)
However, by 1884, it would appear that the congregation
had returned to Ward Road.(xv)
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Addresses from 1895:
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From at least 1895 until 1920(xvi)
123 Murraygate, Dundee,
re-numbered 62 Murraygate, Dundee, in about 1902.(xvii)
This synagogue, consisting of rented rooms, had capacity for 100 congregants with a
vestry room large enough to entertain the community.(xx)
1920 until 1973(xxi)
Meadow Street
(now Meadow Lane), Dundee. This two story building,
purchased by the community, was tucked away in a small
alley.(xxii)
The congregation employed local architects,
Bruce, Son & Morton,
to redesign it for use as a synagogue. The new building housed a school room and a committee room
on the ground floor, which was used for meetings and
parties, and the synagogue on the upper floor. It could
seat 126 male congregants, with a ladies section which seated 56 women.
The opening ceremony in 1920 was performed by Maurice Bloch, a former president, and
Rabbi Dr. Salis Daiches,
then minister in Edinburgh, and the consecration
performed by the congregation's minister,
Rev. S. Bressloff.(xxiv)
The building in Meadow Street was closed in 1973, being compulsorily
purchased by the local council and demolished,
as part of its plans to regenerate the Dundee city
centre.(xxv)
1973 until 1978
During this period, when the congregation was discussing
and implementing plans for its new building and future
activities, services were held at temporary premises,
including the Lecture hall Number Two at Dundee
University (Yom Kippur 1973), as well as various rooms
borrowed or rented from the chaplaincy centre or a hotel in the
University.(xxvi)
1978 until 2019
9 St. Mary's Place, Dundee DD1 5RB. This was the first
purpose-built synagogue in Scotland, outside Glasgow and
Edinburgh. Opened in the congregation's centennial year,
the synagogue was provided by the local council as
compensation for the compulsory acquisition of the
previous synagogue. Designed by
London-born Dundee architect, Ian Imlach,
it was based upon an Iranian design with Ashkenazi features,
and included a double ark, the only one in the UK. It held approximately seventy congregants.(xxvii)
The synagogue closed on 7 June 2019.(xxix)
From 2019
Since 2019, the congregation has been based in nearby St.
Andrews, Fife,(xxx)
services currently being held in the University Chaplaincy
at St Andrews
University.(xxxi)
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Current Status:
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Active but no longer holding
regular services.
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Affiliation
and Ritual:
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The congregation was an
unaffiliated provincial Askenazi Orthodox congregation,
originally under the aegis of the Chief
Rabbi, it is now non-denominational, welcoming Jews from all backgrounds.(xxxi)
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Website:
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https://www.scojec.org/communities/tfjc
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Ministers: (To view a short profile
of a minister whose name appears in blue - hold
the cursor over the name.)
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Rev. Simon Wulf Rosenzweig
- minister from at least 1893 until about 1902.(xxxiii)
Rev. Gabriel Zacutta
- minister from 1902 until 1905.(xxxiv)
Rev. Abraham Eidlin
- minister from 1906 until about 1907.(xxxv)
Rev. Mendel Marks Glaser
- minister from 1907 possibly until about 1909.(xxxvi)
Rev. S. Michaelson
- minister in about 1909.(xxxvii)
Rev. I. Levine
- minister from about 1910 to about 1911.(xl)
Rev. Morris Brown
- minister or reader from 1911 until 1912.(xli)
Rev. Solomon King
- minister in about 1912.(xlii)
Rev. J.M. Kahan
- minister in about 1913.(xliii)
Rev. Leib Aisak Falk
- minister from 1913 until 1915.(xliv)
Rev. Aaron Miller
- minister from 1916 until about 1919.(xlvii)
Rev. Seleg Bressloff
- minister from 1919 until 1922.(xlviii)
Rev. Max Franks
- minister from 1922 until about 1936.(xlix)
Rev. Michael Isaacs
- minister from 1936 until about 1945.(l)
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Lay Officers of the
Congregation:
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Unless otherwise stated, all data on lay officers has been extracted
from
listings in
Jewish Year Books, first published 1896/7.(liv)
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Presidents
1894
- J.H. Cree(lv)
1896-1897
- David Cree
1897-1898
- Isaac Rosen
1898-1899
- Max Esterman
1899-1900
- Harris Esterman
1900-1901
- Nathan Cree
1901-1902
- Edward Samuels
1902-1903
- M. Aranson
1903-1904
- Isaac Rosen
1904-1905
- Henry Nathan
1905-1907
- B. Bloch
1907-1910
- Maurice Bloch(lvi)
1910-1913
- Nathan Cree
1913-1919
- Isaac Rosen
1919-1925
- J. Rosenzweig
1925-1926
- J. Rothfield
1926-1931
- Nathan Cree
1931-1933
- F. Fredman
1933-1934
- H. Levinson
1934-1939
- S. Gillis
1939-1940
- I. Rosen
1940-1945
- no data
1945-1947
- H. Fineberg
1947-1948
- F. Fredman
1948-1956
- S. Gillis
from 1956
- no data
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Treasurers
1896-1897
- Isaac Rosen
1897-1899
- Edward Samuels
1899-1900
- Nathan Cree
1900-1901
- Edward Samuels
1901-1902
- Adolph Symon
1902-1903
- Nathan Cree
1903-1904
- N. Phillips
1904-1905
- M. Phillips
1905-1908
- M. Rosen
1908-1909
- N. Phillips
1909-1910
- G. Feldman
1910-1911
- N. Rothman
1911-1913
- no data
1913-1914
- G. Feldman
1914-1919
- J. Rosenzweig
1919-1925
- M. Milos
1925-1926
- H. Milos
1926-1931
- Edward Feldman
1931-1940
- H. Milos
1940-1947
- no data
1947-1948
- I. Rosen
1948-1956
- A. Stern
from 1956
- no data
Chairman
1980-2001
- H. Gillis
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Secretaries and Hon. Secretaries
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1895-1898
- Nathan Cree(lvii)
1898-1900
- Adolph Symon
1900-1902
- Maurice Bloch
1902-1903
- D. Hershberg
1903-1905
- J. Nathan
1905-1909
- Joseph Bloch
1909-1910
- Harry Fisher
1910-1912
- H. Rosen
1912-1920
- no data
1920-1923
- L. Jacobs, MA
1922-1924
- Isaac Rosen
1924-1926
- F. Fredman
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1926-1928
- S. Manson
1929-1934
- S. Gillis
1934-1940
- H. Silver
1940-1945
- no data
1945-1946
- N. Levinson
1946-1947
- M. Rosen
1947-1953
- S. Gillis
1953-1971
- S.M. Gillis
1971-1974
- W. Koppel
1974-1980
- A. Jacobs
from 1980
- no data
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Membership Data:
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Data from Jewish Year Books(lx)
Number of Seatholders
1896 |
1897 |
1899 |
1900 |
1903 |
1904 |
25 |
28 |
26 |
30 |
22 |
29 |
Number of Members
1911 |
1913 |
1919 |
1945 |
1954 |
1963 |
31 |
26 |
22 |
33 families |
27 families |
33(lxi) |
Reports & Surveys(lxii)
1977 - 10 male (or household) members and
11 female members
1983 - 25 male (or household) members and
32 female members
1990 - 9 household members.
1996 - 3 members (comprising
1 household, 1 individual male and 1 individual female members)
2010 & 2016 - listed as having under 50 members (by household)
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Charitable Status:
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The congregation is a registered Scottish
Charity (no.
SC012108),
initially registered on 14 April 1949 (as Dundee Hebrew
Congregation, an unincorporated association) and re-constituted
on 14 December 2012 as an SCIO
(Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation).(lxiii)
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Online Articles, Videos and Other
Material relating to the Dundee Jewish Community
on JCR-UK
on Third Party Websites
Notable Jewish Connections with Dundee
(compiled with the assitance of Steven Jaffe)
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Sir Maurice Bloch (1883-1964), a
Scottish distiller who was a leader of the Glasgow Jewry, a noted philanthropist
and creator of the Bloch Trust charitable foundation,
grew up in Dundee and served as president of the Dundee
Hebrew Congregation before moving to Glasgow.
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Dr Albert Jacob, b. 1932, was educated in Dundee and was a GP
(family doctor) there. He is the author of The Day It Hit the Fan:
Memoirs of a Reluctant Politician (2005).
The book recounts his campaign against the twinning of Dundee with Nablus in the early 1980s, and subsequent antisemitic incidents in Dundee.
Dr Jacob later made aliyah to Israel.
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Isaac Julius Weinberg (1833-1912), German born, was proprietor of the textile firm Moore and Weinberg of Dundee and Belfast.
He was a Governor of University College, Dundee, President of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce, a collector and donor of art for the city,
a promoter of music, and a key supporter of day nurseries for the working women of Dundee. His portrait is part of the Dundee Art Galleries and Museums collection.
Link to
portrait.
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The Dundee Jewish cemetery is at the Dundee Eastern Cemetery, Jewish Section, Arbroath Road, Dundee DD4 7JU.
Opened in 1888,
with the first burial in 1889. The graves are arranged in three rows.
153 burial records at this cemetery are searchable in the
JOWBR database (see above).
The Scottish Jewish Cemeteries
website, created and maintained by Derek Tobias, includes a searchable
database in respect of all burials at this cemetery.
In addition, the remains of members of a Jewish family of German origin were
interred in vaults in Balgay Park. Balgay, Dundee.(lxiv)
(For some additional information, also
see IAJGS Cemetery Project - Dundee.)
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Other Dundee Jewish Institutions &
Organisations
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Educational & Theological
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Welfare Institutions
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Hebrew Benevolent Loan Society
- founded 1895(lxxii)
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Hebrew Ladies Holy Vestment Society,
also known as the Hebrew Ladies Society - founded by 1901(lxxiii)
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Refugee Committee
- founded 1939(lxxiv)
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Jewish Welfare Society
- founded by 1947(lxxv)
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Social and Zionist
Societies
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Dundee Dorshei Zion and Literary Society
- founded by 1905(lxxviii)
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Dundee Zionist Society
- founded by 1913(lxxix)
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Dundee Jewish Literary Society
- founded by 1925(lxxx)
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Dundee JNF Commission
- founded by 1927(lxxxi)
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Dundee WIZO
- founded by 1955(lxxxii)
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Dundee University Jewish Society
- founded by 1979(lxxxiii)
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Other Institutions
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Hebrew Burial Committee (later known as the
Jewish Burial Society or
Chevra Kadisha)
- founded in 1888, with the first burial at the
Dundee Jewish cemetery.(lxxxvi)
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Trades Advisory Society -
founded by 1948.(lxxxvii)
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Dundee Jewish Population Data
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Year
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Number |
Source |
1896
|
50 |
The Jewish Year Book 1896/7 |
1897
|
127 |
The Jewish Year Book 1997/8 |
1899
|
160 |
The Jewish Year Book 1899/1900 |
1902
|
110 |
The Jewish Year Book 1902/3 |
1904
|
142 |
The Jewish Year Book 1904/5 |
1905
|
149 |
The Jewish Year Book 1905/6 |
1906
|
152 |
The Jewish Year Book 1906/7 |
1913
|
142 |
The Jewish Year Book 1914 |
1914
|
120 |
The Jewish Year Book 1915 |
1919
|
100 |
The Jewish Year Book 1920 |
1945
|
35 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1945/6 |
1949
|
117 |
The Jewish Year Book 1950 |
1950
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100 |
The Jewish Year Book 1951 |
1954
|
89 |
The Jewish Year Book 1955 |
1963
|
84 |
The Jewish Year Book 1964 |
1965
|
20 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1966 |
1987
|
12 |
The Jewish Year Book 1988 |
1990
|
22 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1991 |
2001
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58* |
2001 Census for Scotland |
2011
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63* |
2011 Census for Scotland |
*Those who identified their religion as Jewish in the census.
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Notes & Sources
(↵
returns to text above)
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Jewish Communities of Scotland homepage
Page created: 16 October 2005
Data significantly expanded and notes added: 25 March 2025
Page most recently amended: 9 April 2025
Research and formatting by David Shulman
Explanation of Terms |
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Contact JCR-UK Webmaster:
jcr-ukwebmaster@jgsgb.org.uk

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