The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Women's Annual Bazaar for Israel, Shavuot; Birthday Party; Laying the Foundation Stone of the New Gosforth and Kenton Synagogue 1954
A fascinating 1950s home movie compilation focuses on some of the official charitable events in Newcastle run by Jewish organisations a link with the new State of Israel.
From the collection of:
Overview
The foundation stone for the new Gosforth and Kenton Synagogue is laid by business man Lionel Jacobson who headed the menswear empires of Jackson the Tailor and Burtons, and was once dubbed a very modern tycoon. An insight into the vibrant Jewish community in Newcastle, this home movie features some important events in the Jewish calendar of the 1950s, including a bazaar for Shavuot organised by the local WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization).
Shavuot is a Jewish holiday, known as the Feast of Weeks in English, which occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). The poster advertising screenings of the film of Queen Elizabeths Coronation at the Bazaar Cinema suggests this amateur footage, by a local filmmaker active in Newcastles Jewish community, was shot in 1954. Ruth Jacobson (wife of Lionel) was a vice president of WIZO UK until retiring in 2005 after receiving a Woman of Valour award. Lionel Jacobson was the earliest President of the Newcastle Jewish Representative Council and the son of a Lithuanian immigrant who founded Jackson the Tailor in 1906.
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