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...

JOIN

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

Stories from the Lost and Found - The Library of Lost Books at Leo Baeck College Library

An original exhibition in the Lily Montagu Reading Room at Leo Baeck College, London 26th November 2026 – 22nd October 2027 Curated by Dr Kinga S. Bloch in collaboration with Cassy Sachar and the citizen scientists of Leo Baeck College The Library of Leo Baeck College was among the first partner institutions to host Library of Lost Books search days. It holds a collection of 250 books from the Hochschule, including rare Judaica that were saved from Nazi Germany by courageous

Jewish Studies in Troubled Times: the Case for Arts and Humanities

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Gavin Schaffer marks his appointment as Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan University by drawing on his extensive research into modern Jewish history, racial science, and minority experiences in Britain. Professor Schaffer will reflect on the potential of Jewish Studies to support our understanding of the past and present, focusing on religious and ethnic identities, minority/major

Call for information

Michael Crook, chair of the Sussex branch, and a Trustee, has received an approach from Assistant Professor Benjamin Schvarcz, at Bar Ilan University, about Leon Roth, brother of Cecil Roth, who lived in Brighton at the end of his life. He wrote: "I am currently writing a book on Professor Leon Roth (1896-1963), the British-Jewish philosopher and former Professor of Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After leaving Jerusalem, Roth lived in England, and spent th