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Kehillas Ya'akov is a "valuable and venerable relic of Anglo-Jewish social history" and "one of England's last intimate folk-art Eastern European synagogues" (Dr Sharman Kadish).
It is one of three synagogues in London's East End still functioning and was the first Mizrachi Synagogue in Britain, founded in 1903 by Morris Koenigsberg and Abraham Schwalbe. It is likely that this congregation, which consisted of first generation immigrants from Poland, Lithuania and Russia; Orthodox Jews from small shtetls such as Stetziver, Kalisz and Vikaviskis met in the front room of Mr Koenigsburg's family house on Commercial Road, later occupying our present premises in 1921, which was redesigned by Lewis Solomon & Son, honorary architects to the Federation of Synagogues. Today we are diverse, with members from all types of trades and backgrounds. We are affiliated to three burial societies, Federation, Adath and Chesed Ve'emeth, but we are most proud of the fact that we retain our independence, reflected by the fact that the synagogue is owned and managed by members of the community. Kehillas Ya'akov "is a remarkable survival... and is all the more exceptional for continuing in use as a synagogue" (English Heritage Report 2002). We are a friendly group, truly offering a hearty welcome to anyone who comes through our doors. We are currently embarked on a regeneration project; to restore not only the original beauty of our building but also the community that it serves. |
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Picture taken by Stewart Gee
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