Goodbye and hello...

Dear members,

I write to you in hybrid mode, to say goodbye as your President, and to welcome Gavin Schaffer your new President of JHSE. Gavin will be writing below.

Let us begin with another types of goodbye, with the news if the passing of Bryan Diamond a former member of the Council of the JHSE , who died on 12 March 2025. Bryan published several articles in the Transactions of the JHSE over the years and is the author of Claude Montefiore Jewish Scholar, Communal Leader, Philanthropist. He was the Honorary Archivist of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue for many years and also for Liberal Judaism. Keen on all types of history, Bryan researched his genealogy and wrote articles for Shemot the journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. Bryan will be fondly remembered by those who worked with him to make the JHSE thrive. He has left a wife, Judith, daughters Lyn, Naomi and Susannah, brother Gerald, as well as grandsons and nephews. May his memory be a blessing.

Over the years as President, I helped initiate various collaborations with the aim of organising interesting events for members. I am delighted to inform you of an exciting event on 30 June 2025 at the Tower of London, the 750th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from several English cities at the request of the then Queen-Mother Eleanor. Historians will share their understanding of her motivation, of the impact on the expelled Jews, on the broader effect on England's Jews, and on the very idea of expulsion as a tool available to rulers. The day long event takes place in the Tower, a place that acted as both prison and protective haven to England's Jews in the Middle Ages. So please sign up to what will be a most interesting event:

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/1275-2025-queenship-minorities-and-expulsion/#gs.m04vdk

This will also be an occasion to see part of the Tower in a calm manner and away from large groups of visitors.

This spring has seen several interesting events organised by the branches. We have had the Essex Branch's hybrid talk about Chabad, and look forward to a talk on 15 May associated with a new book by John Jay, Ninette's War, about survival in France during World War II https://www.jhse.org/event-details/ninettes-war-a-jewish-story-of-survival-in-1940s-france

Do make it your habit to check our website for events, these gatherings - even those only online - are not only informative, but also help us build our community of lovers of Jewish history.

I am also delighted to report that our New Generation Group have organised their second in-person annual conference, on 19 May 2025, on the theme 'Archives, Heritage, and Memory', this year hosted by the University of Southampton. Please contact the organisers if you wish to join: ngg@jhse.org.

Many of you know Professor Tony Kushner of the Parkes Centre at the University of Southampton. He is also a very active member of the Board of Trustees, and directs the JHSE's Award programme. Tony has just published a new and fascinating book, The Jewish Peddlar: an Untold Criminal History, published by Manchester University Press. I know that he will speak to the JHSE before too long, but thought you may wish to know, and perhaps to purchase the book. We are working on getting a special deal for JHSE members,a nd will let you know about it very soon. Those of us who attended the celebrations in Brighton last year had the pleasure of hearing him talk about the noted peddlar, criminal, murdered, who entered the realm of legend in Sussex at the centre of the book.

I look forward to seeing many of you at JHSE events and thank you for the support you have given me over the years.

Miri, and handing over to the message of our new President, Gavin Schaffer:

It’s an honour and a pleasure to be asked to serve as President of JHSE and I look forward to working with you all in the coming years. At the outset, I would like to thank Miri for all the work that she has done over the past five years.  Miri’s dedication and wisdom has advanced the work of JHSE and it’s wonderful that she will remain a Trustee after she steps down as President.

 We face many challenges, most obviously the need to engage and inspire the next generation of scholars of British Jewish history.  To this end, it is great that we have our New Generation Group’s conference coming up on 19 May 2025.    The develop of this group, and bringing in new members more generally, is key to our future success, and to making sure that JHSE continues to thrive.   

Your President, Gavin Schaffer