I found out something today about Jewish people & it really shocked me - I am struggling to deal with it

[KatyMac]

Apparently (I don't know how true it is), there are so few Jews in Norfolk they struggle to maintain a synagogue & this is (historically) because of the persecution they received in the middle ages.

I was really shocked

I have always (previously) lived in very Jewish areas and to find out they are 'missing' makes me feel a bit lost (which is daft because I was aware I didn't know any here - but just assumed that they were 'in the next village' so to speak)

Also that history has left the area bereft of such a valuable part of society

I guess I now need to do research about the persecution because I know nothing about it and I feel ignorant

not belittling the persecution, by any means, it happened all over the place (read the Richard Zimler books based in Portugal, they're great), but Norfolk is quite a "spread-out" county, isn't it; must have been even more so in the middle ages. I imagine it would be difficult for any minority to maintain a foothold in such an area?

shouldn't the heading be that you found out something today about Norfolk and it shocked you?

bloody hell,katy, i opened this ready to spring to the defence of my religion, and it was not something bad at all!! well, not in that sense

where i live too, the orthodox synagogue is barely keeping going... thre are very few jews left in the area and no kosher shops or delis

Possibly - it really upset - which is daft

I know that in times past there was a lot of persecution - but to see/hear about it having an actual effect today was upsetting

I didnt mean to offend either Jewish or norfolk people I was just upset

Norfolk doesn't even have a Rabbi - and only just '10 just men' is that the right term?

the 10 men is called a minyan, you need ten men who have been bar mitzvahed to lead a prayer service or for a funeral to take place

we only have a part time rabbi!

there was a brilliant radio 4 series about jewish people in britain in the middle ages, but it must be at least 5 years old so not sure if you could find it online. i was totally gripped and so not a subject i had even thought about much before.

I grew up in Liverpool (lived opposite the synagogue in Greenbank Drive) & then in Hendon (shopped in Golders Green) - it just seems so odd

well, two very Jewish areas then ! i grew up in north manchester, so same for me

have had a quick look on internet, i think was this

BBC Radio 4, The Jewish Journey:1000 Years of Jewish Life in Britain, 2001

I know what you mean KatyMac. We moved from Hampstead to Hartlepool (it's a long story) and I really missed the Jewish community.

Oh I may see if I can listen to that

Message withdrawn

When I lived in Plymouth I realised that there wasn't a very multicultural population - but it didn't hit as hard because I was only there temporarily

I don't know anything about jewish people in norfolk, will ask my mum next time I speak to her. I know that there was a lot of persecution in York, so think that has had an effect on that area.

Lulu - I wonder if we know each other as I grew up in North Manc- kid you go to KD for infant/juniors?

This is quite an interesting site if you're interested in Jewish history KatyMac.

I know what you mean to some extent Lisalisa - I would not feel comfortable about putting my religion as Jewish on offical census type forms.

i did, i started in 1980 i think, in the infants.. or late ;79!

didn;t stay on for high school though

i am 32, and have a twin sister if that is any help!

just going to have dinner TC, if you want to CAT me or email me, if you don;pt want to put detials on here, please do !

funnily I find Liverpool far less multicultural than Manchester, so guess it's all comparative. My mum was quite shocked when she saw DS's nursery school (part of primary school) at how very few ethnic minority pupils there were.

I started in Sept. 81, and I'm 31, so I suspect you were two years above me. How spooky, I think I ought to remember you, but I can't offhand!

I guess it depends upon where in Liverpool you where

I went to Aigburth Vale which was very culturally diverse

But Norfolk is generally not very multicultural IMO, I don't think its just Jews who are under-represented.
We moved here from Cambridge which is full of foreigners, Norwich is not like that at all, perhaps in part as it is gegraphically out on a limb, and not on the way to anywhere else IYSWIM.

I grew up in a large US city with several large Jewish communities. I rather miss all that diversity at time, just a lot of different peoples living side by side and for the most part just leaving one another alone.

Katy. There was a programme on recently which showed a Jewish school in North London. It has had to fit bomb resistant windows and 8 foot razor wire around the perimeter because of continuing threats to children.