A Muslim group is among local organizations trying to raise money to save the Bradford Reform Synagogue, the only synagogue in Bradford, a city in northern England with a large Muslim population. The red-and-cream-striped, Moorish-Victorian synagogue dates from 1880 and is a Grade II listed building. It is the oldest Reform synagogue in England outside London.
The Telegraph and Argus news site reports that:
Bradford Council for Mosques and other businesses and groups in the area are working together with the local authority to raise funds for the Bradford synagogue, to ensure the building remains a sacred space for future generations.
It quotes Zulfi Karim, secretary of Bradford Council for Mosques, as saying:
“In Bradford we are working hard to bring people of different faiths together, and to support one another as good neighbors.
“We are delighted by the way people have rallied to save the Bradford Synagogue, which is not only a work of art in itself, but represents so much in the way of Bradford’s heritage, faith and culture.”
JTA quoted Karim as saying: “When the chair of the Bradford synagogue approached the Muslim community for help and assistance towards the maintenance of this building, it was a challenge which didn’t take us long to decide on.”
In a story from 2009, the Telegraph and Argus described the plight of the synagogue, at a time when the shrinking Jewish community was considering whether it might have to sell the building.
It quoted Rudi Leavor, the synagogue’s chairman and treasurer, who has attended services there since 1955, as saying at the time: “We have fewer and fewer members and therefore less and less finance available. If the building were to be sold then we would have to have services in rented accommodation. Closure is not imminent as even selling it in the best of circumstances will take a long time.”