East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and many of the council area's northern settlements fall into the Greater Glasgow urban area.
Newton Mearns is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, 410 feet (125 m) above sea level. It has a population of approximately 26,993, stretching from Whitecraigs and Kirkhill in the northeast to Maidenhill in the southeast, to Westacres and Greenlaw in the west and Capelrig/Patterton in the northwest.
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005, is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively traditional in comparison with its smaller counterpart, Liberal Judaism, though it does not regard Jewish law as binding. As of 2010, it was the second-largest Jewish religious group in the United Kingdom, with 19.4% of synagogue-member households. On 17 April 2023, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism announced their intention to merge as one single unified progressive Jewish movement. The new movement, which may be called Progressive Judaism, will represent about 30% of British Jewry who are affiliated to synagogues.
The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS, is a synagogue and congregation near Marble Arch in central London. It was established on 15 April 1840. The current synagogue building in Upper Berkeley Street, dedicated in 1870, is Grade II listed. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom and it was the oldest house of prayer affiliated with the Movement for Reform Judaism, before its affiliation lapsed in February 2023.
The history of the Jews in Scotland goes back to at least the 17th century. It is not known when Jews first arrived in Scotland, with the earliest concrete historical references to a Jewish presence in Scotland being from the late 17th century. Most Scottish Jews today are of Ashkenazi background who mainly settled in Edinburgh, then in Glasgow in the mid-19th century. In 2013 the Edinburgh Jewish Studies Network curated an online exhibition based on archival holdings and maps in the National Library of Scotland exploring the influence of the community on the city.
Congregation B'nai Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located in Galveston, Texas, in the United States. Organized by German Jewish immigrants in 1868, it is the oldest Reform congregation and the second chartered Jewish congregation in the state.
The Congregation Shearith Israel, often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2 West 70th Street, at Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States.
Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue, commonly known as Giffnock Shul, located at 222 Fenwick Road in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, is the largest Orthodox Jewish congregation in Scotland. The synagogue also features a religious day school for both children and teenagers.
Bournemouth Reform Synagogue, also known as BRS, is a Reform Jewish synagogue of over 500 members in the heart of Bournemouth, England.
Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 615 Court Street, Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1849 by German Jews, its 1856 synagogue building was the smallest in the United States. The congregation was originally Orthodox, but rapidly moved to "Classical Reform". In the 1930s and 1940s an influx of more traditional Eastern European Jews prompted a change from Classical Reform to Traditional Reform.
Nancy Morris is a Reform rabbi, who was appointed to Glasgow Reform Synagogue, formerly known as Glasgow New Synagogue, in October 2003, making her the first female rabbi in Scotland. She was Rabbi of South West Essex and Settlement Reform Synagogue in London from 2012 until 2014.
Bradford Synagogue is a synagogue at 7 Bowland Street in Bradford, West Yorkshire, affiliated with the Movement for Reform Judaism. It adopted its present name in 2018. The synagogue is still used for Shabbat and major festivals although the community is small and has been in decline for some years. Friday night dinners are held as well as a communal seder for Passover.
Clarkston is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. A dormitory town with a population of around 10,000, Clarkston is on the southern fringe of the Greater Glasgow conurbation and directly adjoins the neighbouring suburban villages of Busby and Netherlee, as well as the towns of Newton Mearns and Giffnock.
Laura Naomi Janner-Klausner is a British rabbi and an inclusion and development coach who served as the inaugural Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism from 2011 until 2020. Janner-Klausner grew up in London before studying theology at the University of Cambridge and moving to Israel in 1985, living in Jerusalem for 15 years. She returned to Britain in 1999 and was ordained at Leo Baeck College, serving as rabbi at Alyth Synagogue until 2011. She has been serving as Rabbi at Bromley Reform Synagogue in south-east London since April 2022.
Manchester Reform Synagogue, a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism, is one of the oldest Reform Jewish communities in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1857 with congregation president Horatio Michollis and Rabbi Solomon Marcus Schiller-Szinessy under the name Manchester Congregation of British Jews by a group consisting mainly of German-Jewish immigrants, the synagogue is located in central Manchester at Jackson's Row. The congregation bought that site in 1949.
Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue, a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism, is a Reform Judaism congregation at 118 Stonegrove, Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It was formed in 2017 as a result of the merger between the Edgware & District Reform Synagogue (EDRS) and the Hendon Reform Synagogue (HRS) communities. EDRS originated in 1934 as "Edgware and District Progressive Jewish Fellowship" and in February 1935 became “Edgware and District Reform Synagogue”. HRS was founded in 1949 and its first building, in 1955, was in Danescroft Avenue. The merged community, established in 2017, is located on the site of the former EDRS. It is now the largest synagogue in Europe; its membership includes 2500 families.
Liverpool Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish synagogue in the Wavertree district of Liverpool, England.
Hendon Reform Synagogue, a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism, was a synagogue in Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet. The community was founded in 1949. Its senior rabbi was Steven Katz, who succeeded his father, Arthur Katz.
Beit Emanuel is a progressive synagogue located in Parktown, Johannesburg. The synagogue was established in 1954 and is one of the largest progressive Jewish congregations in South Africa. It is an affiliate of the South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ), which is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).
Rabbi Curtis E Cassell, born Kurt Kassell, was a rabbi in Germany, the United Kingdom and Rhodesia. He came to the United Kingdom in 1939 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and became a British citizen in 1946.
