Aberdeen Jewish community
The Jewish community of Aberdeen dates from 1893. However, some of the earliest Jews connected to Scotland were the group of medical students who graduated from Marischal College and King’s College in the 18th century. The first Jew to graduate in Aberdeen was Jacob de Castro Sarmento (1691-1762), who received his MD in July 1739. A further fifteen Jews graduated in medicine 1739-1824.
The first synagogue was opened in Aberdeen in 1893. In 1893, the Minister/Shochet of the new community, Rev James Littman, and its President, Alexander Zamek, were prosecuted by the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. However the case was dismissed, and judgement given that the Shechita had been expertly carried out.
By the 1911 census, there were around 110 Jews in Aberdeen.
In 1945, a new synagogue was consecrated at 74 Dee Street, which is still in use.
The Jewish cemetery in Aberdeen contains around 70 burials since 1911.
