JHSE | Jewish Historical Society of England

First message from new JHSE President

Dear JHSE Members, It is a great pleasure to write my first message as your new President. As I take on this role I am humbled by the...

British Jews in Jeopardy - 1933-1945 and Beyond: The Role of the Trades Advisory Council

by Lenny Goodrich Introduction “A Nation….is a group of persons united by a common error about their ancestry and a common dislike of their neighbours”. i We are indebted to the family of the late Maurice Orbach (former Labour MP and prominent Zionist) for depositing extensive papers and other material with the National Archive relating to a significant, yet under-reported aspect of pre-war years Anglo-Jewish life. Orbach was the influential general secretary of the Tr

Jewish Historical Society of England

The Jewish Historical Society of England is a membership-based society with a wealth of resources:

lectures and visits
access to archives
a peer-reviewed journal
research awards
a thriving community of local branches & more.

Since 1893...

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Branches

JHSE branches bring history alive on a local level with a variety of events and activities throughout the year

South London, Kent & Surrey

News

Yiddish Culture Weekend 2026

28-30 August - London The Jewish Music Institute is delighted to present Yiddish Culture Weekend, a celebration of Yiddish language, culture and creativity. At the heart of the weekend is our Sunday Learning Day at SOAS on 30 August — a full day of 16 inspiring sessions exploring Yiddish language, literature, history, politics, music, dance and contemporary culture. With talks, workshops, screenings and participatory sessions led by leading scholars, artists and practitioners

A Tonic to the Nation: Immigrant Contribution to the Festival of Britain

Wednesday 9 September | St John's Waterloo Marking 75 years since the Festival of Britain, St John's Waterloo - the official Festival church - will host events exploring the overlooked role that immigrants and refugees played in shaping the festival. Overview of the day: Symposium | 9:15am Aimed at both a general and a specialist audience, this symposium will explore an important but still widely overlooked aspect of the 1951 Festival of Britain and its legacy: the disproport

Recommended listening

Unholy: Two Jews on the News is a podcast hosted by Jonathan Freedland and Yonit Levi and in a recent episode on the medieval image of the Jew and why its lasted, former JHSE President, Prof Miri Rubin is their expert guest. Listen here Or watch on Youtube Episode description Three of the oldest myths about Jews — relating to money, blood and the way they look — were forged in medieval Christian Europe, mostly in places where there were almost no Jews to observe. Miri Rubin,