History of the Jews in Scotland

Part of a series on the
History of Scotland
Eras Prehistoric (timeline) 12,000 BC–700 BC During the Roman Empire 69–384 Middle Ages Early High Late Early Modern Modern History (timeline)
Rule House of Alpin (843–878; 889–1040) House of Moray (1040–1058) House of Dunkeld (1058–1286) House of Balliol (1292–1296) House of Bruce (1306–1371) House of Stuart (1371–1652) (1660–1707) Commonwealth (1652–1660) Acts of Union 1707
Topics Scandinavian Scotland 793–1468 Wars of independence Renaissance Reformation Restoration Glorious Revolution Colonization of the Americas Enlightenment Romanticism Clans The Scots language Economics Education Military Maritime Historiography Demography Natural history
Culture Architecture Art The Kilt Literature Philosophy
Politics Devolution Local government Scottish National Party Scottish Socialist Party
Sport Football Rugby union National football team Golf
Religion Christianity Scottish Reformation Scottish Episcopal Church Great Disruption Jews and Judaism Islam and Muslims
By region Edinburgh timeline Glasgow timeline
Scotland portal
v t e

The history of the Jews in Scotland goes back to at least the 17th century. It is not known when Jews first arrived in Scotland, with the earliest concrete historical references to a Jewish presence in Scotland being from the late 17th century.^[2] Most Scottish Jews today are of Ashkenazi background who mainly settled in Edinburgh, then in Glasgow in the mid-19th century. In 2013 the Edinburgh Jewish Studies Network curated an online exhibition based on archival holdings and maps in the National Library of Scotland exploring the influence of the community on the city.^[3]

According to the 2011 census, 5,887 Jews lived in Scotland; a decline of 8.7% from the 2001 census.^[4] The total population of Scotland at the time was 5,313,600, making Scottish Jews 0.1% of the population.