Jewish East End Celebration Society
4A Cornwall Mews South, London, SW7 4RX
[email protected]
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- Written by David Walker
People have been asking us about the top picture on our Facebook page (JEECS Facebook). It is the East London Synagogue in Rectory Square, Stepney Green, long closed and now turned into flats, some of which retain features of the synagogue..
The picture (see above) dates from August 1948
The synagogue’s fascinating history has been told by Marc Michaels in East London Synagogue: Outpost of Another World. Marc is the grandson of Jack Michaels, the synagogue’s life president.
He recounts the synagogue’s establishment in 1877 as a “deficit synagogue”, against the stated policies of the United Synagogue whose policy had been to support only those synagogues that would be self-financing, and explores the background to its establishment and subsequent history, illustrated with many rare photographs.
You can read an excerpt from the book, and enjoy some of its superb illustrations, by clicking here.
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- Written by David Walker
News that a change of use application to turn the historic Whitechapel Bell Foundry into a boutique hotel has been submitted to Tower Hamlets Council has prompted us to resurrect this interesting short article by the late Philip Walker z"l, revealing a mysterious Jewish link, from our magazine The Cable, originally published in 2013. To find out more about the plans for this historic site -- and how to register an objection -- go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2019/02/03/a-bell-themed-boutique-hotel/ See also our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jewisheastendcelebrationsoc/
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- Written by Clive Bettington
From Clive Bettington, JEECS chairman
1. Isaac Rosenberg Statue
I continue working on the above project as I want to ensure that the statue commemorating Rosenberg, the acclaimed East End artist and poet who is recognised as one of the finest poets of the Great War, is erected this year. JEECS has to continue until the project is completed. We have reverted to the original sculptor, Etienne Millner, one of Britain's foremost figurative sculptors who, among other project, has completed two statues of the Queen.
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- Written by David Walker
The beautiful East London Centre Synagogue in Nelson Street (30-40 Nelson Street, E1 2DS) now features on Wikipedia, with an entry that draws in part from an article in JEECS magazine, The Cable.
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- Written by Clive Bettington
From Clive Bettington, JEECS chairman
1. Email address change
Clive Bettington’s new email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please change your contacts lists if necessary. The previous email addresses no longer function.
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- Written by David Walker
Back issues of JEECS’s magazine The Cable are still available at bargain prices. Over the years The Cable has provided a unique account of the people, culture, places and events that made the Jewish East End so vibrant.
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- Written by David Walker
JEECS member Vivi Lachs’ new book, Whitechapel Noise: Jewish Immigrant Life in Yiddish Song and Verse, London 1884–1914 is published this month (May).
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- Written by Clive Bettington, JEECS chairman
1. Vanished works by a famous Japanese artist.
2. A quick reminder about the Rosenberg walk on Sunday April 1, now to be accompanied by a BBC journalist.
3. Jewish events in Tower Hamlets.
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- Written by David Walker
Michael Greisman, whose wonderful historic photograph compilations have featured in our magazine The Cable and on our website, has done it again with a collection of portraits of Jewish Servicemen and Servicewomen – many from the East End – who served with the British armed services during World War Two.
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- Written by David Walker
Barry Davis, the renowned Yiddish actor and scholar, who was a very good friend of JEECS, has died.
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- Written by Clive Bettington, JEECS founder and chairman
Many of you are probably puzzled that you have not heard from us for some time and that the latest issue of our magazine The Cable is the first in nearly a year. I am afraid that the committee has decided that, because of illnesses and other reasons, it has decided to wind up JEECS at the end of 2018.The latest issue of The Cable will be the last although emails will continue to be sent until the end of 2018. In short the committee feels that it just cannot continue running JEECS.
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- Written by David Walker
It will soon be time for one of the East End’s most spectacular events, the Great Yiddish parade, and you are all invited.
The date is Sunday November 19, when East End streets will echo with the sound of songs once sung there and forgotten for more than a century, as a marching band with singers and klezmer musicians bring Yiddish Victorian songs of protest back to the London of today.