The Town Council and Burgess Roll minutes of 1691 and 1717 record applications by Jews for permission to live and trade in Edinburgh. However, the first Scottish Jewish community is thought to have been formed in Edinburgh in The Late 18th Century when local directories contain Jewish names, but today's community is descended from a congregation founded in 1816 in the same city.
The Jewish Community of Glasgow dates back to 1823. The oldest synagogue building is The Garnethill Synagogue which is now also the home of The Scottish Jewish Archives, which opened in 1879.
Waves of immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, who came to settle across The United Kingdom during The 19th Century, brought thousands of Jews to Scotland. Most of whom chose to make their homes in industrial Glasgow. Glasgow's Jewish community grew rapidly from 1891 with many Jews settling in The Gorbals.
Glasgow's contemporary community has moved from the industrial parts of the city into the suburbs, mainly Southward to the Giffnock and Newton Mearns areas. Many of the city's seven synagogues are located in the suburbs. Edinburgh, which has a smaller community of just over one thousand Jews, has synagogues, and a number of small but active Jewish societies. There are also small numbers of Jews in Aberdeen and Dundee.
Topic: Scottish Jewish History (Read 1907 times)