Chief Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks and the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Henry Grunwald QC, were joined by Prime Minister Tony Blair and government ministers, MPs, lords and leaders of other religious groups in the special anniversary service. Attendance was by invitation only.
Jews in Great Britain and Northern Ireland number some 300,000. Over 2/3 of them reside in London, and more than 30,000 live in Manchester.
The Jews were expelled from England in the year 1290, exactly 100 years after the York massacre. The 350-year milestone marks the year 1656, when Oliver Cromwell, who replaced King Charles as the Lord Protector of England, began to allow them back into England. However, some historians dispute this date, saying that no official decision was ever made to this effect.
In late 1655, Menasseh ben Israel, a leading rabbi from the thriving Jewish community of Amsterdam, visited Cromwell and attempted to persuade him to allow the Jews back in. Cromwell tended to agree, and called a conference of merchants, lawyers and clergymen to discuss the proposal. But after a week of heated debate, they were unable to reach a verdict, and no official decision to allow the Jews to return was made. Cromwell, however, began allowing the Jews to return in an unofficial manner. They were not allowed to build a synagogue until almost 50 years later, when the still-standing Bevis Marks synagogue was dedicated in 1702.
Historian Eliane Glaser, the author of a forthcoming history of the Jews in England, also throws cold water on the celebrations by noting that there were Jews in the country before 1655 as well. However, as she writes, the anniversary is "as much about celebrating the Jews' achievements as about commemorating a historic event."
Prof. David Cesarani, who specializes in Jewish history, writes in The Guardian today that the Jewish presence in England over the past 350 years has not passed with total smoothness. The original statutes "prescribed that Jews should not dispute with Christians, and should not dress or act ostentatiously," he writes, and the Jews "adopted a policy of keeping a low profile that became pathological... They suffered legal disabilities, but so did Catholics and Protestant dissenters [- but by] 1829, Catholics and Protestants were relieved of civil disabilities, [while] Jews were excluded from the right to hold office" until 1858.
At yesterday's ceremony, Prime Minister Blair said, "Throughout these years, the community has shown how it is possible to retain a clear faith and a clear identity and, at the same time, be thoroughly British... As the oldest minority faith community in this country, you show how identity through faith can be combined with a deep loyalty to our nation." Blair added that Britain would always be "a true friend of Israel".
Rabbi Abraham Levy, the spiritual head of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregations, referred vaguely to increasing local anti-Semitism by saying, "We urge the Government to continue in its efforts to eradicate unacceptable behavior from those who want to disturb the tranquility of a peaceful, united country."
For a chronology of Jewish history in Great Britain, click here.
Jews in Great Britain and Northern Ireland number some 300,000. Over 2/3 of them reside in London, and more than 30,000 live in Manchester.
The Jews were expelled from England in the year 1290, exactly 100 years after the York massacre. The 350-year milestone marks the year 1656, when Oliver Cromwell, who replaced King Charles as the Lord Protector of England, began to allow them back into England. However, some historians dispute this date, saying that no official decision was ever made to this effect.
In late 1655, Menasseh ben Israel, a leading rabbi from the thriving Jewish community of Amsterdam, visited Cromwell and attempted to persuade him to allow the Jews back in. Cromwell tended to agree, and called a conference of merchants, lawyers and clergymen to discuss the proposal. But after a week of heated debate, they were unable to reach a verdict, and no official decision to allow the Jews to return was made. Cromwell, however, began allowing the Jews to return in an unofficial manner. They were not allowed to build a synagogue until almost 50 years later, when the still-standing Bevis Marks synagogue was dedicated in 1702.
Historian Eliane Glaser, the author of a forthcoming history of the Jews in England, also throws cold water on the celebrations by noting that there were Jews in the country before 1655 as well. However, as she writes, the anniversary is "as much about celebrating the Jews' achievements as about commemorating a historic event."
Prof. David Cesarani, who specializes in Jewish history, writes in The Guardian today that the Jewish presence in England over the past 350 years has not passed with total smoothness. The original statutes "prescribed that Jews should not dispute with Christians, and should not dress or act ostentatiously," he writes, and the Jews "adopted a policy of keeping a low profile that became pathological... They suffered legal disabilities, but so did Catholics and Protestant dissenters [- but by] 1829, Catholics and Protestants were relieved of civil disabilities, [while] Jews were excluded from the right to hold office" until 1858.
At yesterday's ceremony, Prime Minister Blair said, "Throughout these years, the community has shown how it is possible to retain a clear faith and a clear identity and, at the same time, be thoroughly British... As the oldest minority faith community in this country, you show how identity through faith can be combined with a deep loyalty to our nation." Blair added that Britain would always be "a true friend of Israel".
Rabbi Abraham Levy, the spiritual head of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregations, referred vaguely to increasing local anti-Semitism by saying, "We urge the Government to continue in its efforts to eradicate unacceptable behavior from those who want to disturb the tranquility of a peaceful, united country."
For a chronology of Jewish history in Great Britain, click here.