The Foundation for Jewish Heritage has been working on a project to save and restore the beautiful grade II listed Victorian synagogue in Merthyr Tydfil with the aim of turning it into a Welsh Jewish Heritage Centre.
As part of developing the project, the Foundation is now announcing the launch of a dedicated website, www.jewishheritage.wales. It is sponsored by The Polonsky Foundation.
Features of the website include:
a) the project logo based on the Welsh dragon that sits atop the building
b) ‘Jewish Wales’ section with a history page, videos on Jewish Wales and six Jewish heritage trails from across the country
c) ‘Who We Are’ section demonstrating the large number of people and partner institutions supporting the project
d) ‘Education’ section which was developed with the Jewish Museum London and presents items relating to Welsh Jewish life to be used by Welsh schools. When you click on an item, various discussion questions appear below it to guide the student and teacher in exploring what each image represents
e) the site is bi-lingual in English and Welsh
The synagogue project received a significant boost last year when it was visited by HRH The Prince of Wales.
The Foundation is now in the process of preparing a funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Dame Helen Hyde, the Foundation Chair, commented, “this is a vital next step for the Welsh Jewish Heritage Centre project, creating an important digital presence. I am particularly pleased with the education section on the website. The materials presented can already start to be used directly in classroom teaching. And the special dragon logo is wonderful!”
Michael Mail, the Foundation Chief Executive, remarked, “the Welsh Jewish Heritage Centre project has been receiving overwhelming support from right across Wales. In creating this website, we have now opened a window into the project, creating a means whereby those interested can follow the project’s progress, and also access information on the synagogue building and the Welsh Jewish experience. We will be developing the site further.”
The launch of the website has been covered on BBC S4C, the BBC News website and BBC Radio Wales.
BBC coverage