the former

Ebbw Vale Hebrew Congregation

and Jewish Community

Ebbw Vale, Blaneau Gwent, South Wales

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congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.

Town of Ebbw Vale

Ebbw Vale is a town in the Welsh Valleys with a population of about 24,000. It is located at the head of the Ebbw valley and is about 1,000 feet above sea level. It lies approximately 32 miles north of Cardiff, some 14 miles east of Merthyr Tydfil and 9 miles south of Brynmawr.

Until 1974, Ebbw Vale formed the urban district of Ebbw Vale in the then county of Monmouthshire (which in many instances was then considered part of England and not Wales). From 1974 until 1996, it was part of the district of Blaenau Gwent in the new Welsh county of Gwent. In 1996, Gwent was abolished as an administrative county, and the district became the county borough of Blaenau Gwent - a unitary authority (within the ceremonial, or preserved, county of Gwent).

The Jewish Community

It appears that the first Jews began to settle in Ebbw Vale by the 1880's, although the first Jewish congregation was not established until the first dacade of the twentieth century. For a history of the Ebbw Vale Jewish Community, see Jews of Ebbw Vale and District by Harold Pollins.

Congregation Data
Name:	Ebbw Vale Hebrew Congregation
Formation and Synagogue:	The congregation was formed by 1906,^(iv) services initially being held in members' homes, in particular the home of Charles Goldblatt.^(v) The congregation's synagogue, a former chapel,^(vi) was acquired in 1911 and formally opened (by Isidore Salmon) and consecrated by Rev. A.A. Green, on 26 December 1911.^(vii) It was originally planned that the opening and consecration would take place on 13 September 1911,^(viii) but was delayed apparently as a result of the riots that broke out in Tredegar in August 1911, and spread to other town in south Wales including Ebbw Vale.^(ix)
Closure:	The congregation had become defunct by 1929^(xiii) as a result of "the transference of the Jewish families to other parts of the country",^(xiv) and the synagogue has since been demolished for redevelopment, along with the adjacent chapel.^(xv)
Ritual:	Ashkenazi Orthodox
Affiliation:	The congregation was an unaffiliated congregation under the aegis of the Chief Rabbi.
Readers and Shochets: (To view a short profile of a reader whose name appears in blue - hold the cursor over the name.)	Rev. Harris Lebowetz - from about 1909 until at least 1911.^(xviii) Rev. I. Rabinowitz - from about 1913 until 1914.^(xix) Rev. Henry Olivestone - from about 1914 until about 1916 (or possibly later).^(xx) Rev. Getzel Bloch - from about 1917 until about 1923.^(xxi)
Lay Officers of the Congregation:	Presidents 1906-1911 - Charles Goldblatt^(xxv) 1911-1929 - Haris Pech^(xxvi) Hon. Secretary 1912-1929 - Gustav Abrahams^(xxvii)	Treasurers 1907-1911 - J. Goldblatt^(xxviii) 1911-1912 - D. Joseph^(xxix) 1912-1929 - H. Goldblatt^(xxx)
Registration District:	Blaenau Gwent, since 1 April 1974^(xxxiii) - Link to Register Office website
Cemetery Information:	There is no Jewish cemetery in Ebbw Vale, the closest being in Brynmawr, opened in 1920, which was governed by a joint board, the Brynmawr and District Jewish Burial Board, which included residents from the other local Jewish communities, including Ebbw Vale. There is also a Jewish cemetery at Merthyr Tydfil.

Online Articles, and Other Material
relating to the Ebbw Vale Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

Jews of Ebbw Vale and District, a History of the Ebbw Vale Jewish Community by Harold Pollins.
Press Reports relating to the Ebbw Vale Jewish Community, compiled by Harold Pollins.
How 'Greeners' Came to the Valley by Michael Wallach, Jewish Chronicle Colour Magazine, 1975.
Bibliography.

Some Notable Jewish Connections with Ebbw Vale

Marks Joseph Samuel Lyons (1856-1902), one of the earliest Jewish residents of Ebbw Vale, served in a wide number of local institutions, including governor of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire (Cardiff), Vice-President of the Chamber of Trade, and Chairman of the Ebbw Vale Urban District Council. In 1895, he became the first Jew from Wales and Monmouthshire (the present day boundaries of Wales) to be appointed as a Justice of the Peace.

Other Ebbw Vale Jewish Institutions & Organisations

Educational & Theological

Hebrew and Religious Classes - from the establishment of the congregation

Other Institutions

Zionist Society - founded in 1918^(xxxiv)

Ebbw Vale Jewish Population Data
Year	Number	Source
1881	6	1881 Census result, extracted by Harold Pollins
1891	17	1891 Census result, extracted by Harold Pollins
1901	35	1901 Census result, extracted by Harold Pollins
1911	64	1911 Census result, extracted by Harold Pollins
1911	40	(The Jewish Year Book 1912)
1913	98	(The Jewish Year Book 1914)
1918	80	(The Jewish Year Book 1919)

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) to (iii) Reserved.
(iv) The Jewish Chronicle of 16 November 1906 reported that a barmitzvah had taken place at the Ebbw Vale synagogue. However, the no listing in Jewish Year Books until 1911. ↵
(v) The Jewish Chronicle report of 11 July 1914. ↵
(vi) The Jewish Chronicle report of 29 March 1912. ↵
(vii) The Jewish Chronicle report of 22 December 1911. ↵
(viii) The Jewish Chronicle report of 1 September 1911. ↵
(ix) Harold Pollins's "Jews of Ebbw Vale and District", Part III. ↵
(x) to (xii) Reserved.
(xiii) Harold Pollins's "Jews of Ebbw Vale and District", Introduction, although the congregation continued to be listed in Jewish Year Books until 1935 (clearly an error). ↵
(xiv) The Jewish Chronicle report of 24 November 1926. ↵
(xv) Michael Wallach's "How 'Greeners' Came to the Valley". ↵
(xvi) and (xvii) Reserved.
(xviii) Rev. Lebowetz is believed to have been appointed in response to an advertisement in The Jewish Chronicle of 19 September 1909 and was still in Ebbw Vale in 1911, according to the 1911 Census, in which he was described as a "rabbi" (Harold Pollins's "Jews of Ebbw Vale and District", Part III). He was not listed in Jewish Year Books. ↵
(xix) Rev. Rabinowitz was listed as reader and shochet of the congregation in the Jewish Year Book 1914. The Jewish Chronicle of 10 July 1914 reported his move from Ebbw Vale to Limerick. ↵
(xx) Rev. Olivestone was listed (under the name Rev. H. Olivestein) as reader and shochet of the congregation in Jewish Year Books from 1915 (which would indicate his service commenced in 1914) through 1919. Although The Jewish Chronicle of 28 January 1916 reported his appointment as minister at close-by Tredegar, it is uncertain whether such post was in addition to or instead of Ebbw Vale. In 1918, he was reported to be still at Ebbw Vale (The Jewish Chronicle of 11 January 1918). However, see comments regarding his successor, Rev. G. Bloch ↵
(xxi) Rev. Bloch was listed (as Rev. H. Bloch) as reader and shochet of the congregation in Jewish Year Books from 1920 through 1924. However, The Jewish Chronicle of 13 June 1924 reported that at a farewell ceremony earlier that month an illuminated address had been presented to Rev. Bloch by the Ebbw Vale congregation in appreciation of his services for seven years, which would indicate that his term of office commenced in about 1917. ↵
(xxii) to (xxiv) Reserved.
(xxv) C. Goldblatt was listed as president of the congregation solely in the Jewish Year Book 1911 (the first time the congregation was listed). However, in a letter from C. Goldblatt published in the The Jewish Chronicle on 18 March 1910 he stated that he had been president of the congregation since its establishment, which we have taken as 1906. ↵
(xxvi) Based upon H. Pech's listing as president of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1912 through 1929. His re-election in 1912 is confirmed by a Jewish Chronicle report of 2 February 1912. ↵
(xxvii) Based upon G. Abraham's listing as hon. secretary of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1913 through 1929. and his election in 1912 as reported in The Jewish Chronicle of 2 February 1912. ↵
(xxviii) J. Goldblatt was listed as treasurer of the congregation solely in the Jewish Year Book 1911 (the first time the congregation was listed). However, in a letter from C. Goldblatt published in the The Jewish Chronicle on 118 March 1910 he stated that his son (without mentioning his son's name) had been treasurer of the congregation for three years, which takes us back to 1907. ↵
(xxix) Based upon D. Joseph's listing as treasurer of the congregation in the Jewish Year Book 1912. ↵
(xxx) Based upon H. Goldblatt's listing as treasurer of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1913 through 1929. and his election in 1912, as reported in The Jewish Chronicle of 22 February 1912. ↵
(xxxi) and (xxxii) Reserved.
(xxxiii) Previous Registration Districts: Abergavenny from 1 July 1837 to 1 July 1861; and Bedwellty from 1 July 1861 to 1 April 1974. All registers would now be held by the current office. ↵
(xxxiv) Harold Pollins's "Jews of Ebbw Vale and District", Part 4. ↵

Former Jewish Communities in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent home page

Jewish Congregations in the historic county of Monmouthshire

Jewish Congregations in the former administrative county of Gwent

Jewish Congregations in Wales, listed according to current unitary authorities

Jewish Communities & Congregations in Wales home page
(including online articles)

Page created: 23 August 2005
Data significantly expanded and notes added: 23 October 2024
Page most recently amended: 13 November 2024

Research by David Shulman and Harold Pollins
Formatting by David Shulman

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