Religion in Birmingham - Judaism

Judaism

0.2% of Birmingham's residents identify themselves as Jews. This is lower than the average figure for England and Wales of 0.5%.

The existence of a Hebrew streetname in the surviving 1344-5 Borough Rentals may indicate the presence of a Jewish community in Birmingham in the 13th century – a period of significant economic growth for the expanding market town. Such a community would however not have survived the Edict of Expulsion of 1290.

Birmingham's developing industry attracted Jewish settlers as early as 1730 and there was already a synagogue in a private house in the area of today's New Street Station in 1791, when a purpose-built synagogue was constructed in Hurst Street. The Singers Hill Synagogue in Blucher Street, a Grade II* listed building which is still used for worship today, was built in 1856 .

The Jewish population of the city grew in the late 19th century (from 730 in 1851 to 2,360 in 1871) with the influx of Jews from Eastern Europe which led to the founding of two further Orthodox synagogues. In the interwar period, a vibrant Jewish community existed in the area around Holloway Head in the city centre and Jews also settled in the Edgbaston and Moseley areas. This period also saw the founding of the city's Liberal synagogue in Sheepcote Street.

Redevelopment of the Holloway Head area after World War II and a general trend of movement to the suburbs led to Birmingham's Jews becoming more thinly spread across the city. In the same period, however, a voluntary aided school named after King David was established in Moseley, a successor to the city's previous Hebrew school which dated back to the mid-19th century. In recent years, the community has declined in number from around 6,000 in the 1930s to 2,343 in 2001. A number of Jewish families have emigrated to Israel and others are believed to have moved to the larger communities in London and Manchester.