Lionel de Rothschild's hard-fought entry into Parliament in 1858
marked the emancipation of Jews in Britain - the symbolic conclusion
of Jews' campaign for equal rights and their inclusion as citizens
after centuries of discrimination. Jewish life entered a new phase:
the post-emancipation era. But what did this mean for the Jewish
community and their interactions with wider society? And how did
Britain's state and society react to its newest citizens? Emancipation
was ambiguous. Acceptance carried expectations, as well as
opportunities. Integrating into British society required changes to
traditional Jewish identity, just as it also widened conceptions of
Britishness. Many Jews willingly embraced their environment and
fashioned a unique Jewish existence: mixing in all levels of society;
experiencing economic success; and organising and translating its
faith along Anglican grounds. However, unlike many other European
Jews, Anglo-Jews stayed loyal to their faith. Conversion and
outmarriage remained rare, and connections were maintained with
foreign kin. The community was even willing at times to place its
Jewish and English identity in conflict, as happened during the 1876-8
Eastern Crisis - which provoked the first episode of modern
antisemitism in Britain. The nature of Jewish existence in Britain was
unclear and developing in the post-emancipation era. Focusing upon
inter-linked case studies of Anglo-Jewry's political activity,
internal government, and religious development, Michael Clark explores
the dilemmas of identity and inter-faith relations that confronted the
minority in late nineteenth-century Britain. This was a crucial period
in which the Anglo-Jewish community shaped the basis of its modern
existence, whilst the British state explored the limits of its
toleration.
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The Anglo-Jewish Community in the Post-Emancipation Era 1858-1887
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780191568039
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter