Anglo-Jewry
The Chief Rabbi of CanterburyMonday, December 24, 2012 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
With his public defense of religion, the outgoing Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has fulfilled an important role within British society—just not the one he was appointed to perform.
Jacob’s Sons in the Bishop’s PalaceWednesday, November 14, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The current Baron Rothschild is one of the British philanthropists backing a new museum of Christianity in Britain, built around a dazzling series of thirteen Baroque paintings, each over eight feet tall.
A Very English InstitutionMonday, January 23, 2012 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Last week some 600 Jews converged on the hamlet of Kerhonkson in upstate New York for Limmud NY, a three-day "marketplace of Jewish ideas." Now in its eighth year, the volunteer-run Limmud NY is open to professional teachers and amateurs alike.
Editors' Picks
"More Estonians than Etonians" Charles C. Johnson, Tablet. A philo-Semite ever since her family rescued a Jewish girl from Vienna in 1938, Margaret Thatcher gave unprecedented prominence to Jewish politicians in her government.
Britain’s Masada Alan Shaw, Jewish Chronicle. This week in 1190, 150 Jews were besieged in York Castle by a local mob—and, at the bidding of their rabbi, chose to take their own lives rather than die at the hands of their enemies.
Britain’s New Jews David Dee, Jewish Chronicle. By promoting participation in sports, the Anglo-Jewish establishment transformed Eastern European immigrants from aliens to “Englishmen and women of the Mosaic persuasion”—at the expense of their Judaism.
Should Jews Leave Britain? Douglas Murray, Spectator. As British society becomes increasingly anti-Zionist, Anglo-Jewry will have to dissociate from Israel to remain welcome in Britain. The process has already begun.
A Tale of Two Pamphlets Fred MacDowell, On the Main Line. As England debated readmitting Jews, an anonymous pamphlet blamed Jews for the deaths of Christian children. An answering pamphlet absolved the Jews—but blamed Catholic priests.
Limmud Turns 33 Clive Lawton, eJewish Philanthropy. "As far as I remember, this was the first time in the Jewish world that Orthodox Jews could hear what Reform Jews really thought and vice versa."
The Merchants of Manchester Derek Taylor, Jewish Chronicle. Barred from the guilds, Jews in Victorian Britain entered new industries, looked for gaps in the market—and built some of the country's most recognizable brands.
A Safe Pair of Hands Jeremy Rosen, Algemeiner. Ephraim Mirvis is a good pastoral leader. But his appointment as Chief Rabbi in the U.K. testifies to the unwillingness of Britain's centrist Orthodoxy to challenge Haredi authority.
Out of the Closet Josh Glancy, Jewish Chronicle. “Some Jews are beginning to grasp a fact that Britain's Asian and black communities have known for years: we're a minority, maybe that can actually be quite cool.”
British Brain Drain Ben Elton, Jewish Chronicle. With the demise of Jews' College, British Jews who want to become Orthodox rabbis are pursuing their education in the United States and Israel—and they’re not coming back.