Merseyside and Tourism 

Who was the first Jew and where did they live? 

 

The first Jew was Abraham and he lived in Canaan (now modern-day Israel). Abraham is revered in Judaism (the religion of the Jews) Christianity and Islam. 

 

Abraham had seven children including Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac had a son, Jacob whose name was changed to Israel.

 

Jacob (or Israel) had 13 children and ten of those children became 10 of the twelve tribes of Israel. The other two tribes came later but from his descendants Those of the tribes living in the Israelite Kingdom of Judah became known as Yehudi or, later, Jews. 

 

What is the first documented evidence of Jews living on Merseyside? 

 

The Liverpool Jewish community is one of the oldest provincial Jewish communities in the UK.  

 

The first Jewish person to settle in Liverpool is thought to be Leon Villareal, a Portuguese Jew who came from Guyana in 1740. At the start of the 18th century, Sephardic merchants (Jewish people originating from the Middle East) travelled from the West Indies to Liverpool for trade opportunities. 

 

By the 1750’s, Jewish migration to Liverpool expanded from central Europe. For example, Jewish shopkeepers came from Germany and settled by the docks as this was the perfect place to buy and sell produce coming from abroad. 

 

In 1752 there was a Jewish community living in Liverpool. They worshiped at “Jews Synagogue, Stanley Street”. A 1790 a census revealed that there were twenty Jewish people living in Liverpool. Upon arrival, the Jewish population were welcomed by Liverpudlians; one Methodist preacher noted that the Jewish people “live among them”. Also, in 1790 Gore’s Directory identified 19 Jewish householders including Benjamin Yates, a “Jewish High Priest”. 

 

In 1798 four prominent members of the Jewish community (Abraham, Elias and Samuel Joseph plus brother-in-law Morris Mozely) became founder members of the Liverpool Athenaeum. In 1803 Elias Joseph was elected to the Parish Council.