Announcement of the death and funeral of Mrs Margaret Graf, Cardiff, 1952

Description

This is a notice of the death of Mrs Margaret Graf and information about her funeral. The funeral was to be held on 5 November 1952 at Western Cemetery in Ely and to be conducted by Rabbi Reinhart of the West London Synagogue. Mrs Margaret Graf was the mother of Rabbi Dr Louis Gerhard Graf who was Rabbi to the Cardiff New Synagogue from 1949 until 1980. Originally from Germany, he emigrated to Manchester in 1939. Before moving to Cardiff he was a Rabbi in Bradford and Leeds. He was the founder and chairman of the Cardiff Inter-faith Association. He was involved with many charitable groups including the United Nations Association, the Association of Jewish Refugees, the Marriage Guidance Council and the Standing Conference of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The congregation worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.

Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm);
"Order of a memorial service at the Cardiff New Synagogue, 22 March 1987" from https://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/1008231;
"Reform Synagogue, Cardiff, United Kingdom" https://mireviewz.com/reform-synagogue-cardiff/.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.