We know some of the greatest entertainers, scientists, entrepreneurs and politicians were and still are Jewish.

For such a small community Jews have given the world a lot from comedy (Woody Allen, Jackie Mason, Joan Rivers, Larry David) and music (Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Kiss, Amy Winehouse) to scientific breakthroughs (Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud), businesses (Alan Sugar, Jack Lyons) and food (Heston Blumenthal, Nigella Lawson).

The list is endless which is pretty impressive for people that make up just 0.2% of the world's population.

Read more about Yorkshire's fascinating and varied history here

Jewish history in Yorkshire can be traced back to the Middle Ages, unfortunately for the wrong reasons.

But Jewish communities, with populations in Leeds and historically Hull, Bradford and Huddersfield, have enjoyed considerably better treatment in modern times.

And Jews have given plenty to the county in which they settled.

Here are some of those things, some of which may surprise you.

Fish and chips

Fish and chips is as British as it gets, right? Well, it was actually brought into Britain and by extension, Yorkshire by Jewish immigrants.

Jewish immigrant Joseph Malin opened Britain's first known fish and chip shop in East London, in 1860.

Sephardic Jews (those of Spanish, Portuguese and North African ancestry) would fry fish in batter and eat it cold on the Sabbath when cooking was forbidden. Malin worked out that it tasted great hot too, especially combined with fried potatoes – and his customers agreed.

Marks and Spencer

Michael Marks (1863 - 1907) who founded Marks and Spencer in Leeds in 1894
Michael Marks (1863 - 1907) who founded Marks and Spencer in Leeds in 1894

Michael Marks, a Polish Jew, and Thomas Spencer, of Skipton, founded Marks and Spencer as a Penny Bazaar in Kirkgate Market, Leeds, in 1894.

Spencer's bookkeeping skills were the perfect match for Marks' sales flair.

The stall's 'admission free' sign – in those days entering a shop meant you had to buy something – attracted high volumes of customers and by 1900 Marks & Spencer had 36 Penny Bazaars, including 12 high street shops.

Despite a large number of store closures in the last decade, M&S remains one of Britain's most widespread and instantly recognisable retail chains.

To honour M&S's origins the upmarket food and clothing retailer runs a Penny Bazaar at Kirkgate Market.

Burton menswear

When Meshe David Osinsky, arrived in Britain from Lithuania in 1900 he could hardly speak a word of English.

By 1929, Osinsky, who had since changed his name to the uber-English sounding Montague Maurice Burton, was one of Yorkshire's biggest employers.

The ready-to-wear menswear retailer, with a headquarters in Sheffield and its main factory in Leeds, had 400 shops.

A quarter of the British military uniforms made during World War Two were made by Burton.

Burton stores remained on British high streets until parent company Arcadia went into administration in 2020.

The Burton brand was bought by Manchester-based Boohoo and it now trades online only.

Gannex

Harold Wilson (centre) wearing his Gannex coat during a visit to Gibraltar, circa 1968
Harold Wilson (centre) wearing his Gannex coat during a visit to Gibraltar, circa 1968

This once-fashionable waterproof clothing material was invented by Lord Joseph Kagan (born Juozapas Kaganas) in 1951 and produced in the Lithuanian-born Jewish entrepreneur's factory in Elland.

Gannex garments were worn by Huddersfield-born Prime Minister Harold Wilson as well as US President Lyndon Johnson, China communist leader Mao Zedong and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh also wore coats made from Gannex.

Architecture

The former Western Synagogue, Hull, which is now offices
The former Western Synagogue, Hull, which is now offices

The mark Jewish people left on Yorkshire can also be seen in architecture such as Bradford Synagogue. This grade II* listed place of worship, built in Moorish style, is one of Bradford's most distinctive buildings outside and inside.

Another distinctive building is the former Western Synagogue, in Hull, which was built in 1902.

Maureen Lipman

Dame Maureen Lipman was born and raised in Hull
Dame Maureen Lipman was born and raised in Hull

National treasure Dame Maureen was born and raised in Hull. She's currently Evelyn Plummer on Coronation Street but has been a star of primetime TV for decades.

Older readers will remember her as neurotic Jewish grandmother Beatie in 80s British Telecom adverts.

She was made a dame in the Queen's New Year Honours in 2020.

Judaism for beginners

Jews praying at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Judaism
Jews praying at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Judaism

Judaism is an Abrahamic religion from which Christianity and Islam later developed.

Like Christians and Muslims, Jews believe in one all-powerful, creator God.

Judaism developed in Canaan, now Israel and Palestine, in the 5th century BCE.

It shares some of the same prophets as Christianity and Islam such as Abraham (Ibrahim) and Noah (Nuh).

Jerusalem (Al-Quds) is regarded as a holy place in all three religions.

Observant Jews do not work on the Sabbath (Friday night until Saturday evening) as it is a day of rest and worship.

Jews follow strict dietary laws called kashrut which forbid pork, seafood and the mixing of dairy and meat products.

The holy language of Judaism is Hebrew which is related to Arabic.

There are many different sects of Judaism from ultra-orthodox and conservative to reform and liberal, as well as Ashkenazi (Eastern European), Sephardi (see above) and Mizrahi (oriental) variants.

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