Reflecting on Judaism

The records are very meagre for the period following the failure by the local Committee to obtain finance from the Zionist Federation. I recall that the nucleus of the Committee kept in touch with each other and was continuously busy remaining in contact with the various authorities regarding their, and the proposed school’s requirements, but none of this is mentioned in the records passed to me.

          The next item on file is an unsigned minute of a meeting which took place on 7th May, year not stated but which was probably circa 1962, in the home of Joe and Sybil Rose. In attendance were Joe Rose in the Chair, Sidney Lancet, Harry Goldner, Evelyn and Woolf Abrahams, Raymond Rudie and Yetta Young. Also present were Dr. Braude and Mr. Carmell representing both the Torah Department of the Jewish Agency and the Mizrachi Organisation. At the time the Mizrachi Organisation was also involved in Jewish day schools but to a lesser extent than the Zionist Federation. Somehow they had heard of the local project and expressed interest in becoming involved. They had visited the proposed site before the meeting and emphasised that we needed confidence because it required courage to initiate and maintain as bold a project as that which we were undertaking. The first need, they said, was to ascertain the means for paying for the land. They estimated that their organisation might find £12,500/£15,000 whilst the local Committee hoped to raise some £5,000/£10,000. They were asked whether their figure might be increased since Ilford was a community of small householders with families and mortgages and that made fund-raising a lengthy process.

          It was agreed that Chief Rabbi Sir Israel Brodie, who had already expressed his encouragement for our endeavours, be approached with a view to his becoming the school’s Patron, perhaps suggest names of prospective donors and also aid us by addressing a public meeting in October or November for the purpose of raising funds. The Committee would ascertain which good halls in the locality would be available. The point was also made that although negotiations were to go ahead, the date of completion could be deferred. Dr. Braude agreed to consult with his colleagues to see how soon finance could be available.

          The only other item from this period is another undated, unsigned manuscript minutes of another meeting which took place. Those present were Joe Rose in the Chair, Sam Synett, Bernard Rader, Raymond Rudie, Avi Gerecht, Evelyn and Woolf Abrahams, Harry Goldner and Yetta Young. The main object of this meeting was to scrutinise and ratify two documents drawn up for signature. The documents were draft agreements between the local committee and the Mizrachi Organisation and with some suggested amendments it was hoped that they would be fair and acceptable to both parties. The documents were voted upon and approved but with Sam Synett abstaining. The Chairman invited Sam to explain why he had abstained to which he replied that he was against any union with the Mizrachi Organisation and felt that we should make another attempt with the Zionist Federation. The Chairman explained the many attempts which we had already made with them but Sam was not convinced and thought that we should have another try, a view with which the Committee did not agree.

          The following were elected to the new Committee: - Joe Rose, Chairman; Woolf Abrahams, Vice-Chairman; Sidney Lancer, Treasurer; Raymond Rudie, Secretary; Yetta Young, Asst. Secretary.

          Meanwhile, the kindergarten opened in 1960, as arranged, in the Beehive Lane Synagogue’s Betty Gabriel Hall for which they made no charge. It had three terms each year and children whose third birthday fell during a term were accepted. It was very fortunate that a Mrs. Tina Pope was available and applied for the position of head teacher and a Mrs. Gwen Robinson applied for the position of assistant. Tina was a qualified infant teacher whilst Mrs. Robinson was a well-known voluntary worker in the local Christian community and a state enrolled nurse The project was a great success from the off and it continued successfully for many years. When the day school eventually opened the kindergarten was obliged to close, but more of this later.

          Unfortunately, Tina became very ill during the kindergarten’s first year of existence and was obliged to resign. By then Mrs. Robinson had had a full year’s experience of the Jewish calendar and the traditions associated with each of the festivals. With the help and involvement of Harry Goldner and Evelyn Abrahams she was able to maintain a very high standard of Jewish and religious education right up to the day that the kindergarten closed. The reason for its closing is quite interesting.

          The kindergarten was eventually considered to be eligible for a grant by the Claims Commission, of whom reference was made in an earlier chapter, towards the capital costs of a new building. It was originally intended that it form an annexe to the day school and indeed it was built as such. Two things then happened which militated against this happening.

          The first was that when the school eventually opened the demand for places by parents of children of the younger ages was overwhelming; over seven hundred applicants for the maximum number of some 150 infant places available. The governors of the school and kindergarten decided to postpone the transfer of the kindergarten to its new premises for a year or two until the numbers of applicants settled down. This didn’t happen for many years. Nevertheless, the kindergarten continued successfully until the Barkingside Jewish Youth Club which came to Ilford as our neighbour together with the Stepney Jewish Day School, decided to open a kindergarten in their premises, something that they were entitled to do. We must now span a few years in the school’ history.

          Because there was tremendous demand for school places, some parents, wrongly thinking that acceptance by the Youth Club’s kindergarten gave automatic entrance to the school, sent their children there. Yet other parents with a child already in the school decided to send their younger children to the Club’s kindergarten so as to save an extra journey, one to Beehive Lane and the second to the school. As a result of this twin diversion the Ilford Jewish kindergarten slowly died. It had come to the point that it was no longer commercially viable. There must be many middle-aged persons in Ilford and elsewhere with very happy memories of their attendance there.

          I understand that a nursery class was opened circa 2001 and there has been a rumour circulating that the school may shortly be opening a kindergarten-aged class. If this rumour is correct then the original intentions will have become fulfilled.

Woolf Abrahams.

October 2003.