City to hold first Shabbat service in 53 years

A Shabbat service will take place in Worcester this weekend for the first time in half a century.

The service, in which a portion of the Torah is read, is being held by the Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community, which serves Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

Rabbi Anna Gerrard said the event, starting at 11:00 BST on Saturday, was a "hugely significant" moment.

"For some reason we've never done a service in Worcestershire and there hasn't actually been a Jewish synagogue service in Worcestershire for over 50 years," she said.

The Torah scroll used in the service is from Hereford Museum, which received it as a donation from a collector.

The service comes at a time of heightened concern among Jewish communities nationally.

Gerrard said: "I think particularly on social media, it's a difficult time and some of our members have definitely experienced some very unpleasant encounters, mostly online but a couple have experienced them in person - not any kind of physical violence but certainly some verbal abuse.

"Jewish people are just as diverse as everyone else. We hold different political opinions about social politics and home politics and international politics and Israel politics."

She said Worcester's Jewish community, which formed during World War One, stopped meeting in 1973, and no further Shabbat services were held.

Since then, Jewish residents have had to travel to Birmingham or Gloucester for worship.

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