For sale: Antique bimah from Margate shul, used
V PARTS OF an antique bimah set recently listed on eBay have sparked a flurry of cross-communal interest after its British-Israeli buyer offered to donate the ornate furniture to a UK shul.
The entire structure previously stood in the Margate Hebrew Congregation, a dwindling seaside community that was sold last year and slated to become a cultural centre.
The buyer of the objects — not the entire bimah set but parts of it, including the reader’s desk — was David Newman, an academic based in southern Israel. He snapped it up for almost £700 after seeing the listing promoted on Facebook.
“I bought it on the spot, having just seen one picture,” Mr Newman said, adding that he had offered to donate it to a shul in exchange for a small plaque in memory of his father.
His offer to find a new home for the ceremonial furniture has generated a “huge” level of interest on social media from congregations across the religious spectrum, he said.
“All day long, I’ve been inundated, between 10 to 12 enquiries from different communities who are interested,” he said. Mr Newman, who started the ‘Synagogues of London in the UK’ Facebook group, said shul furniture should be preserved once congregations have shut down.
“I think there should be some sort of open clearing house where they’re willing to donate or sell at a symbolic price the shul furniture so they don’t just get destroyed,” he said.
The bimah and other furniture items were removed from the shul building and sold to the eBay vendor late last year, a synagogue trustee said.
The original eBay seller, Patrick Wiseman, said that Torah scrolls and other important religious items had been moved to congregations across the UK.
The antique dealer in Kent also stressed the importance of safeguarding heritage.
“As antique dealers, we’re custodians of items of interest and importance,” he told the JC.
The shul building was bought by a private benefactor with a view to converting it into a cultural venue, one of the Cliftonville Cultural Space CIC codirectors Jan Ryan said.