The Jewish Community of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
British crown colony, South of the Iberian Peninsula.
21ST CENTURY
Throughout the 21st century, Gibraltar's Jewish community has become increasingly observant, leading to some tensions between the generations. Since the community has ties to both Great Britain and Spain, the 2016 Brexit decision has also led to uncertainty.
As of 2004, about 600 Jews lived in Gibraltar, with the four synagogues and a communal rabbi. Almost all Jewish children attended the community's primary schools and girls went to the Jewish secondary school. The community published a weekly newsletter.
In 2017 there were approximately 200 Israelis living in Gibralter, in addition to Gibralter's native Jewish population. A number of Jewish immigrants have also arrived from Malaga and Torremolinos, seeking a stronger Jewish community.
Main Jewish organization:
Managing Board, Gibraltar Jewish Community (MBJC)
Phone: 350 200 72606
Fax: 350 200 40487
Email: mbjc@gibtelecom.net
Website: http://www.jewishgibraltar.com/
HISTORY
Jews lived in Gibraltar in the 14th century, and in 1356 the community issued an appeal for assistance in the ransoming of Jews captured by pirates. In 1473 a number of Marranos fleeing from Andalusia applied for permission to settle in Gibraltar. The treaty of Utrecht (1713), which ceded the fortress to England, excluded the Jews from Gibraltar in perpetuity. However by an agreement in 1729 between England and the sultan of Morocco, his Jewish subjects were empowered to come there temporarily for purpose of trade, and the establishment of a permanent community was not long delayed.
The majority of the Jewish settlers were from adjacent parts of North Africa. By 1749, when the legal right of Jewish settlement was recognized, the community numbered about 600, being about one-third of the total number of civilian residents, and there were two synagogues. During the siege of 1779-1783 many took refuge in London, reinforcing the Sephardi community there.
Subsequently, the community in Gibraltar resumed its development. During the period of the Napoleonic wars, Aaron Nunez Cardozo was one of the foremost citizens of Gibraltar; his house on the Almeida subsequently became the city hall. In the middle of the 19th century, when the rock was at the height of its importance as a British naval and military base, the Jewish community numbered about 2,000 and most of the retail trade was in their hands, but thereafter the number declined. During World War II, almost all the civilian population, including the Jews, was evacuated to British territories, and not all returned.
In 1968 the community numbered 670 (out of a total population of 25,000); it still maintained four synagogues and many communal organizations. Sir Joshua A. Hassan was the first mayor and chief minister of Gibraltar from 1964 to 1969.
In 1997 there were 600 Jews living in Gibraltar. The general population was 28,000.