Albion and Jerusalem: The Anglo-Jewish Community in the Post-Emancipation Era

321 Pages·2009·1.16 MB·English

by  Michael Clark

ALBION AND JERUSALEM
OXFORD HISTORICAL MONOGRAPHS
Editors
p. clavin r. j. w. evans
l. goldman j. robertson r. service
p. a. slack b. ward-perkins
j. l. watts
Albion and Jerusalem
The Anglo-Jewish Community in the
Post-Emancipation Era, 1858–1887
MICHAEL CLARK
1
1
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AlbionandJerusalem:theAnglo-Jewishcommunityinthepost-emancipationera/
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Preface
This book was developed from my doctoral thesis. Both the book and
thethesisexplorevarioushistoricalthemesthathaveinterestedmesince
my early undergraduate days: identity formation; minority–majority
relationships;tolerationandpersecution;acculturationandintegration;
andculturalchoice.
My particular interest in this period of Anglo-Jewish history and,
indeed,thecommunityitselfwasstimulatedwheninvestigatingreactions
tothemassimmigrationofRussianJewstoBritaininthelatenineteenth
century and the subsequent reception of German Jewish refugees in
the 1930s. The indigenous British Jewish community treated these
immigrants with a mixture of sympathy and brotherly affection on
the one hand and cultural resentment and paranoia on the other—an
ambivalencethatseemedtometoreflectdeepercontradictionsinherent
intheminority’sunderstandingoftheiridentityandperceivedposition
inBritishsociety.InvestigatingfurtherduringaMaster’sdissertation,I
tentativelytracedtherootsofthisreactionbacktotheeventsofJewish
emancipationinBritain—theformaladmissionofJewstothestatusof
legallyequalcitizens—andtheideaforathesiswasborn.
With my thesis and then this book I wanted to elucidate what
happened, and more fundamentally why, during emancipation that so
affected modern Jewish identity in this country; as well as compre-
hendingtheparticularcontextwithinwhichthisoccurred:thepolitics,
religion, and society of mid/late nineteenth-centuryBritain. Emancip-
ation, a well-studied subject in relation to many European Jewries,
has been overlooked in Britain, and one factor of interest was simply
the greater exploration of a time crucial to the formation of modern
Anglo-Jewishidentityand,also,themodernJewishcommunity—many
of the minority’s central institutions were constructed at this time. A
particularthematicinterest,whichbecameincreasinglycentraloverthe
courseofresearch,wasthefundamentalambiguityofmanyoftheissues
involved—the opportunities and dangers that modernity and identity
definition presented, often simultaneously, to a minority community,
andhowthisallowedthecommunity,individuals,andoutsiderstoposit
avarietyofAnglo-Jewishpositionsandidentitiesdependingupontheir
circumstancesandprejudices.
vi Preface
Althoughexploringaparticularcommunityataparticulartimeinits
history,manyofthethemesinthisbookarenotpeculiartoAnglo-Jewry.
Mostobviously, theyposeausefulcomparisonwiththeexperiencesof
otherJewishcommunities,bothinEuropeandtheUnitedStates,aswell
asthosenascentatthetimeintheBritishEmpireandCommonwealth.
More widely, there is potential read across to other immigrant and
minorityhistories,and,inturn,thereactionofBritishstateandsociety
tominoritiesandmulticulturalism—subjectsthatspeakdirectlytothe
broader concept of British identity. Indeed, the contemporary debate
about modern British identity, and, notably, the scope and potential
ofitsmulticultural aspects, to some extent,continuestoreflect certain
issuesoutlinedinthisbook.
ItmightbeworthnotingatthispointthatIamnotJewish.Idothis
outofnodesiretoproclaimmyidentityotherthantoexplainthatIhave
not grown up in any particular Anglo-Jewish milieu nor am affiliated
to any particular form of Judaism, which, positively or negatively,
might have influenced my understanding of the issues discussed in
this book. I have approached this study as a curious and, hopefully,
objective researcher, and, as such, I am grateful for the open and
friendly reception I have received from the Anglo-Jewish community,
particularlyitshistoriansandarchivists,whichhasmadethispossible.
Many people, in fact, have contributed to the completion of this
workandrequiremygratefulacknowledgement.
First and foremost is my supervisor, turned advising editor,
Dr Lawrence Goldman, who has patiently nurtured the project since
its inception. It is in no small part due to his invaluable guidance,
suggestions, and encouragement, not to mention his penetrating
understandingofhistoricalissues,thatmythesiswasfinishedatall,let
aloneconvertedintothisbook.
Iamalsoindebtedtoanumberofpeoplefortheirvaluableacademic
assistanceandencouragement.DrAbigailGreenreadmajorsectionsof
theworkwhenitwasstillathesisandofferedcrucialadviceanddirection,
aswellasansweringmyqueries,bigandsmall,regardingAnglo-Jewry.
Dr John Davis and Professor David Cesarani, my thesis examiners,
were kind enough to recommend the work for publication whilst
offeringincisivecommentsonareasforimprovement.ProfessorCesarani
deserves particular thanks, as he provided his extensive knowledge of
Anglo-Jewish history to help guide my thinking both at the very
Preface vii
beginning of work on the thesis and after it had been submitted.
Professor Bill Rubinstein was kind enough to evaluate the thesis for
publication and offer advice on developing the work to this end.
Thanks are due to Dr Bob Moore and Dr Timothy Baycroft for
shaping and supporting the idea for my thesis when it was nothing
but an abstract proposal. I am grateful to Dr Michael Jolles for not
only allowing me to reproduce material from his research on Jewish
MPs in an appendix, but for providing helpful guidance on facts and
details,aswell.
I am exceedingly grateful to the Arts and Humanities Research
Council, whose funding over three years made this project possible in
thefirstplace.
Archivists and librarians at numerous institutions have assisted my
research. I would especially like to thank: Professor Chris Woolgar
and Ms Karen Roberston at the University of Southampton Library’s
Special Collections, who were always very helpful and friendly in the
faceofmynumerousrequests;staffatTheRothschildArchive,London,
for providing me with valuable help in locating useful items; the staff
at the London Metropolitan Archives, British Library and National
Archiveswho provided repeated accesstoa greatquantityof data;and
Miss Miriam Rodrigues-Pereira, who was kind enough to work late in
ordertohelpmeinvestigatetherecordsoftheSpanishandPortuguese
Jews’ Congregation. The staff of the Bodleian Library require special
mentionfortheiryearsofpatientassistance.
For kindly permitting access to their archives and records I would
like to acknowledge and thank: the Anglo-Jewish Association; the
Board of Deputies of British Jews; the Bodleian Library, University of
Oxford; the British Library; the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies,
the Church’s Ministry among the Jews; Greenwich Heritage Centre;
the London Beth Din; London School of Jewish Studies, the the
National Trust; the Office of the Chief Rabbinate; the Rothschild
Archive, London; Southwark Local History Library; the Spanish and
Portuguese Jews’ Congregation; the Syndics of Cambridge University
Library; UCL Library Services, Special Collections; the United Syn-
agogue;theUniversityofSouthamptonLibrary;andtheWestLondon
Synagogue.
I would like to thank theYale Center for British Art for permission
toreproducethecoverimage.
viii Preface
Last, but by no means least, I need to acknowledge the invaluable
and ever-present support and love of my family, and Fiona—without
whichthisbookwouldnothavebeenpossible.
M.C.
London
September2008
Contents
Abbreviations x
Introduction:EmancipationandtheModernJewishIdentity 1
1. EstablishmentandEmancipation:TheFormation
ofAnglo-JewishIdentity,1656–1858 26
2. PositionandPolitics:TheFirstJewishMPs 50
3. Representation,Coordination,andCivilization:TheBoard
ofDeputiesofBritishJewsandCommunalGovernment 109
4. FaithandForm:Anglo-JewishReligion 170
5. ImmigrantsandExhibitions:ExpandingtheBoundaries
ofBritishJewry 224
Conclusion:Post-EmancipationAnglo-Jewry 256
Appendix1. JewsElectedtoParliament 265
Appendix2. SynagogueStatisticsattheBoardofDeputies 268
Appendix3. Post-EmancipationDeputiesandtheirAttendance 269
Glossary 279
Bibliography 281
Index 303