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In Northern Ireland, a Jewish Community Exists — But Struggles to Stay Afloat
Northern Ireland is where Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s father, Chaim Herzog, came from. Despite a deep-rooted Jewish history, however, the community struggles to get a minyan on Shabbat. Community member Neville Finch told me that they have struggled to keep a community alive for the last few decades.
Most visitors going to Belfast want to see Giant’s Causeway, the Titanic museum, or a series of Game of Thrones sites. The Titanic had a kosher kitchen on board, and Gustav Willhem Wolfe, one of the partners in the company that built the ship, had Jewish ancestry.
I was told there are 66 registered Jews at the Orthodox congregation — although one census counts 400 Jews, both down from the thousands that lived there in the mid 20th century. When I visited during a Shabbat service, the community was not able to get a minyan.
Another challenge that the Northern Ireland Jewish community cites is that after Brexit, they have had a hard time receiving kosher food due to red tape and difficulty importing it. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, and separate from the Republic of Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Jewish community moved into their current synagogue building in 1964 as they downsized, and the current rabbi is David Kale. The previous synagogue location — at Annesley Street, off Carlisle Circus — is now in ruin, with graffiti sprawled all over.
Even in the Republic of Ireland to the south, Jewish life has dwindled in recent years, mostly due to emigration to Israel or the UK. Even though there were reportedly Jews in Ireland for at least 1,000 years, the first verified migrations were from Sephardim from Spain and Portugal in the 1500s, and a huge Ashkenazi wave in the 1800s from Germany and later the former Russian Empire. In Dublin, the community has more Lithuanian origins, but in the north, it is more diverse.
Across the north, traces of a Jewish presence can be found. The synagogue in the city of Derry, which had the second largest community, collapsed in 2013 after much disuse. The community had left decades ago. A plaque about the congregation can be found in the Belfast synagogue.
Other visible traces of Jewish presence are the Jaffe Fountain, a tribute to the former Jewish mayor, Otto Jaffe (1899-1900). And not far from Belfast, there is a tribute to the Jewish Holocaust refugee children who came via the Kindertransport program to the Millisle refugee farm.
In Tyrone, I was told that there are two Jews buried in the Catholic cemetery; one, a stillborn female, has a Star of David engraved. Someone had laid flowers on the grave, rather than stones. In the Jewish tradition, people generally leave stones, showing that the dead have not been forgotten.
The town of Lurgan once had a synagogue more than 100 years ago. The building is now a laundry service. The current owners told me that they found a Jewish prayer book while doing renovations a few years ago.
There are other Jewish groups and Israeli students, some of whom may only show up for the holidays. In addition, last October, the community had the first wedding of two Belfast natives in almost 40 years, when Ben Magrill and Rachel Leopold returned from Manchester to conduct their wedding there.
Finch described the Orthodox community as being “small and tightly knit, and doing its best to keep Jewish life alive.” He added, “Northern Ireland will always have a Jewish presence.”
Avi Kumar is a Holocaust historian/journalist from Sri Lanka. He has lived in many countries and speaks 11 languages. He has written about a variety of topics in publications worldwide.
The post In Northern Ireland, a Jewish Community Exists — But Struggles to Stay Afloat first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.