The United Kingdom is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the world, with an estimated 292,000 Jews living in the country. Of these, two-thirds live in and around Greater London, with other major communities located in Greater Manchester, Leeds, Greater Glasgow, Brighton and Hove, Birmingham, Southend-on-Sea, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Gateshead. Hertfordshire is the most Jewish county in the UK, with 2.23% Jews; it is followed by the City of London with 2.06%, and Greater London with 1.63%. The British Jewish community is incredibly diverse in terms of religious and cultural affiliation, as well as socioeconomic terms.
It plays a major role in Britain's national identity and is present in all aspects of public life, from senior positions in the state to public administration, judiciary and armed forces. The main representative body of the British Jewish community is the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which is part of the World Jewish Congress. Jewish News is a popular newspaper on the streets of London that offers an invaluable window into the community for the country at large. The Federation of Young Zionists (FZY) was founded in 1935 and focuses on developing a strong Jewish and Zionist identity through a framework of camps, seminars and various events.
World Jewish Relief (WJR) is an agency that focuses on humanitarian aid for impoverished Jews and has Prince Charles as its patron. Census data is invaluable to community leaders and planners because it can provide a remarkably detailed and accurate view of the country's Jewish population and allow us to monitor changes over time and predict future trends. For example, data from Redbridge in east London shows that the size of the community has fallen from 10,208 to 6,412 over the past decade. Sites of Jewish interest include the Jewish museums in London and Manchester and the Bevis Marks Synagogue, which dates back to 1701. The government considers Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to be the legitimate voice of the Jewish people in the United Kingdom.
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) federates democratically elected national Jewish community organizations in more than 40 European countries, uniting 2.5 million Jews across the continent. At the local level, there are many other organizations representing Jewish communities in the UK such as the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (ScoJEC). There are also several adult learning centers such as the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) and the Lyon Learning Project. Funding for these institutions is done at both state and community levels. The vitality and diversity of the community are also reflected in other ways such as through Limmud conference - an annual UK-based meeting of international Jewish thinkers, speakers, musicians, artists and theologians that has become a model for global applications - or through projects such as Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 or other countdowns that make the community proud. Finally, it's worth mentioning that between 1938 and 1939 - until World War II broke out on September 1st 1939 - nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria and Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia were allowed to reach safety in Britain through a rescue effort known as Kindertransport.
