Margate Hebrew Congregation’s Cliftonville Synagogue has been taken out of auction at the eleventh hour, following a campaign to save the building from being sold off for redevelopment.
The sale was due to take place on Wednesday but was stopped following a campaign by local activists to raise £300,000 to convert the building into a Jewish cultural hub for the seaside town.
Francesca Ter-Berg, a klezmer cellist heading the campaign to save the synagogue, said things were “looking positive”, but could not go into further detail as the JC went to press. A crowdfunder set up by the campaign had accrued over £12,000 and the campaign had been seeking the support of private backers.
The building was put on the market after the remaining members could no longer afford its upkeep. With eleven congregants, six of whom are women, they had been unable to have a minyan for several years.
