The 2011 census recorded around 270,000 Jewish people in the UK, the second-largest Jewish community in Europe after France. Most live in London, Manchester, Leeds and Gateshead. The Jewish place of worship is the synagogue and the religious leader is the rabbi.
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Major Jewish festivals include Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in the autumn, Hanukkah (the festival of lights) in December, and Passover (Pesach) in the spring marking the Exodus from Egypt. Britain has had Jewish communities since at least the eleventh century, and the modern community has grown since the late nineteenth century.
You may be asked what Hanukkah celebrates, what a synagogue is, or what title is given to a Jewish religious leader.
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