The entire museum Team wishes you and your loved ones a restful holiday season and a bright, joyful Chanukah.

We are deeply grateful for your support over the past year – whether you visited the museum, attended our events, ate in our Café, became an MJM Member or made a donation. It is thanks to you that we are able to continue our work of bringing people together and celebrating our shared humanity.

2025 has been a busy year for us all at Manchester Jewish Museum.

We connected with thousands of people from Manchester and beyond. Visitors, school groups, artists, and community members have all taken part in memorable experiences at the museum. Many told us that spending time in the museum helped them feel more relaxed, more connected, whether to their own communities or to others, and more hopeful.

Our team delivered over 300 hours of teaching to nearly 3 thousand pupils from schools in Greater Manchester and beyond. Through baking, making, exploring and storytelling, these workshops helped students deepen their understanding of Jewish culture and history. Teachers consistently tell us that our sessions bring RE lessons to life, spark curiosity, and support young people’s learning in a way that stays with them.

Yet the past months have also brought profound challenges.

Since October 2023, the context in which we work has changed profoundly. The war in Israel and Gaza has deeply affected our audiences and our own team here at the museum, and much community cohesion work across the region has understandably paused. With religious and race-related hate crimes reaching record levels in the UK, and following the recent attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, we are witnessing firsthand how these events are straining relationships and wellbeing within our communities.

In recent weeks, fewer visitors have been able to come through our doors. Concern from parents has seen many schools cancel their planned visits, which has had a significant impact on our income.

Despite these challenges, we remain committed to being a place where people can come together to explore their identities, share stories, and find moments of connection and healing.

One beautiful example of this was our Cheetham Cultural Festival Open Day in October, just a week after the tragic events in Manchester. We opened our doors for free and welcomed more than 150 visitors in just four hours for a programme of creative activities and performances designed to bring people together. One visitor told us, “Following recent events, it was lovely to see many communities coming together.”

In this coming year, community cohesion and bringing people together will be our priority and we would love it If you joined us on this journey.

We believe that our work is needed now more than ever, but we need your help to continue our mission and grow our impact.

As a registered charity, we rely on the generosity of our members, supporters and partners to be able to bring our work to life. Every visit, membership, and donation allows us to share the rich stories of Jewish Manchester, foster unity, and promote peace through diversity. Join us in this vital mission by supporting us in one of the following ways.

WAYS TO SUPPORT US:

Become an MJM Member

Become an MJM Member and connect closer to our museum and our work. For just £35 a year you will support our beautiful historic synagogue and help us to continue our work with local communities and programme brave and imaginative events, celebrating Manchester’s rich Jewish heritage. As a thank you from us, you will receive special benefits, including reduced ticket prices for our events and discounts in our Cafe and shop.

Become an MJM Member

Make a donation

If you would like to support our work, but do not wish to become a member, please consider making an online donation using the below button. We also accept donations at the museum.

Make a donation

Gifts in Wills

Remembering Manchester Jewish Museum by leaving a gift in your will can help us continue sharing Jewish stories with the world and our society, and celebrate that which makes us unique and that which connects us all.

Your support ensures that we can take great care of our breathtaking 1874 Spanish, and Portuguese synagogue building and our vast collection of artefacts, to allow future generations to enjoy and learn from it for years to come. It also means we can deliver a range of events and activities that tackle antisemitism and other forms of racism and discrimination by bringing people together, sparking conversations and connections. In today’s world, we believe this is more important than ever.

We are deeply grateful to HLF Berry for offering a free will service as part of our Gifts in Wills scheme.

Read more about our Gifts in Wills scheme

COMING UP IN 2026