Thursday,
February 09, 2012
16 Shevat, 5772
News
France
UK
Germany
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
EU-Israel affairs
US 2008 ELECTION
Iran - Holocaust
Conflict in Gaza
Voices
Culture
In Depth
Mideast Crisis
World Cup
On Anglo Jewry
Week at a glance
France Election
EU and Annapolis Summit
News from outside of Europe
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Mumbai Terror
DURBAN II
WILLIAMSON
Stories from our Readers
The Calendar
Links
advertisement
advertisement
wagerworks software

Celebrating 350 years of Jewish life in Britain
Updated: 27/Jun/2006 13:33
Photo: Jewish Museum
Page tools
Email to friend
Print this page
Bookmark this page
Add your view
LONDON (EJP)--- A new exhibition marking the 350th anniversary of the readmission of Jews to Britain has opened in London, with the aim of celebrating Jewish life.

The “3½ Centuries of British Jewish Life” exhibition, staged by the Jewish Museum, together with the organising group for 3½ centuries of British Jewish life, explores the development of what it calls the “vibrant” Jewish community and looks at how it has played an active role in society, whilst retaining its own distinctive religion and identity.

Designed specifically as a travelling exhibition, it opened on June 19 in the House of Commons — the lower chamber in Britain’s parliament — and is now touring venues across the country, including Brighton & Hove Jewish Community, Cambridge Jewish Residents Association, a Jewish school in London.

Different local authorities have also expressed interest in booking the exhibition and it is also expected to travel to libraries and other schools and community centres.

Overview of Jewish history

Related Articles
Blair leads commemoration of Jewish resettlement in Britain
Being British for 350 years
Straw praises Israel and British Jews
The history of the Jews of Britain
Anglo Jewry Today
EJP looks back on 350 years of history of Jews in the UK
Its aim is to give audiences — Jewish and non-Jewish — an overview and understanding of Jewish history and how it relates to British history.

It consists of 16 freestanding panels charting British Jewry's history, and details the experience of Jews, from their persecution in the 12th and 13th centuries — culminating in their expulsion from Britain in 1290 through the Edict of Expulsion — to their readmission under Oliver Cromwell in 1656 and the Sephardi and Ashkenazi waves of immigration.

The panels explain the establishment of the Sephardi Committee of Deputies of British Jews in 1760, eventually merging with the Ashkenazi equivalent to form the Board of Deputies of British Jews in 1817, and the establishment of Jewish charitable concerns such as the Jews’ Free School, which is still in evidence today, and the Jewish Board of Guardians to look after the Jewish poor, the precursor to today’s Jewish Care.

They take in Jews’ search for civil and political equality, the further waves of immigration from Eastern Europe in the 19th century, when Jews fled the pogroms in places like Russia and Poland and their movement to industrialised centres in Britain, including Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.

They also span the two world wars, and explain the British mandate and Britain’s role in setting up what is now the State of Israel and, more recently, look at the contributions Jews have made to British life, despite being a minority.

Communities interested in hiring the exhibition, at a cost of 75 pounds per week plus transport, should contact the Jewish Museum directly.

For more information on the museum, visit www.jewishmuseum.org.uk or call +44 (0) 207 284 1997.

Add Your View Email to friend Print this page Bookmark this page
Daily quote

Ninety-seven saint days a year wouldn’t affect the theater, but two Yom Kippurs would ruin it

Brendan Behan, Irish author, who was born on 9 February 1923 
 
Day in history
1994: Yugoslavia

Peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina announced (so called Vance-Owen peace plan)
 
Latest Articles
Lee Zeitouni’s family not allowed to attend CRIF dinner
German court caps Jewish ghetto pension claims
French government walks out of parliament after 'Nazi' taunt
EU will not recall its ambassador in Damascus, ‘important to have people to follow the situation’
EU says it will continue giving money to the Palestinian Authority despite deal with Hamas
Hungarian foreign ministry condemns Jobbik MP’s comments questioning the Holocaust and comparing Israel to a Nazi system
ADL welcomes US decision to close its embassy in Damascus