The North Western Reform Synagogue, commonly known as Alyth, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at Temple Fortune, Golders Green, in the Borough of Barnet, north-west London, England, in the United Kingdom.
Overview
The congregation was founded in 1933. Its building, designed by the architect Fritz Landauer,Herselle Krinsky, Carol (1996). Synagogues of Europe – Architecture, History, Meaning. Appendix I, p. 430. was built in Alyth Gardens in 1936, on land carved out from the West London Synagogue’s cemetery in Hoop Lane. In 1942, the congregation became a founding member of Associated British Synagogues, now known as the Movement for Reform Judaism. With approximately 2,500 adult and 1,000 child members, the congregation is one of the largest Reform synagogues in the United Kingdom.
In 2021, its members approved a 6 million upgrade to the synagogue building, for completion in 2024.
Clergy The following individuals have served as rabbi of the congregation:
No. Rabbi Notes Solomon Starrels 1933 1938 Maurice Perlzweig 1938 1942 Also chair of the World Union of Jewish Students in 1933 and had helped to create the World Jewish Congress Vivian Simmons 1942 1943 Acting, on secondment from West London Synagogue Dr Werner van der Zyl 1943 1958 Also founder and president of Leo Baeck College Philip Cohen 1958 1972 Dow Marmur 1972 1983 Charles Emanuel 1983 2003 2003 2011 Became Senior Rabbi at the Movement for Reform Judaism in 2011 Mark Goldsmith 2006 2019 Became Senior Rabbi at Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue in 2019 Josh Levy 2008 2023 Emeritus; became Chief Executive of the Movement for Reform Judaism in 2023 Colin Eimer 2015 incumbent Hannah Kingston 2017 incumbent Elliott Karstadt 2020 incumbent Golan Ben-Chorin 2024 2024 Interim14Nicola Feuchtwang2024incumbent
Notable members
Leo Baeck, a German rabbi, scholar and theologian who served as president of the congregation from 1947 to 1956 Norman Bentwich, a barrister and legal academic, who served as president of the congregation from 1958 to 1971 Richard Hermer, Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland since July 2024 Gabriel Pogrund, Sunday Times journalist notable for reporting on the UK's Covid-19 response and Labour Party politics
See also
History of the Jews in England List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom List of synagogues in the United Kingdom
Notes
References
External links