Historical Background

The London Committee of Deputies of British Jews, which is now known as the Board of Deputies of British Jews, was established in 1760 when seven Deputies were appointed by the elders of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregations to form a standing committee to pay homage to George III on his accession to the throne. Deputies had been appointed before this date, for example in 1738 when the question of admitting Jews to the freedom of the City of London was under consideration. 1760 however is generally accepted as the date of the Board’s foundation. Minutes Books date from then and it was also the date the Ashkenazi Community appointed their own “Secret Committee for Public Affairs”. It was agreed at the end of 1760 that the two committees should continue to hold joint meetings from time to time. The small Anglo-Jewish community resided largely in London at this date.

The Secret Committee of the Ashkenazim and the ‘Deputados’ met intermittently until well into the 1800s. From 1817 the two appear to have achieved greater unity and met thereafter as one body.

In the 1830s, the role and reputation of the Board began to blossom with the election of Moses Montefiore as President of the Board in 1835 and with official recognition from Parliament. Parliament had no sitting Jewish members until the second half of the century, but the 1836 Marriage Act named the President of the Board of Deputies as the authority for certifying the Marriage Secretaries of Synagogues. In 1836 Montefiore was instrumental in drawing up the first constitution and establishing the name of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The Constitution has never been a static arrangement, but has been regularly updated to meet the needs of the Community. The 1836 preamble stated that it was of essential advantage to the Jews of Britain that in all matters attaching to their political welfare, they should be represented by one body.

Moses Montefiore was to have profound influence over the development of the Board as he was to have over Jewry throughout the world. Under his Presidency the Board came to be recognised as the representative body of British Jewry and its name became known overseas. In 1840 Montefiore went to plead for persecuted Jews in Damascus; the Board has been actively concerned with the interests and rights of co-religionists abroad ever since. Montefiore was President from 1835 until 1874 with intermittent breaks usually when he was overseas. He was an active international figure; he visited the Holy Land several times (part of Jerusalem is named after him) and interceded many times on behalf of oppressed Jews with foreign leaders. He received co-operation from the Foreign Office and the personal approbation of Queen Victoria who knighted him.

By the end of the century, when the Anglo-Jewish community had achieved full emancipation, hundreds of thousands of Jews from Eastern Europe came to the country to escape Tsarist oppression. The Aliens Committee was formed by the Board in 1905 (the year the first Aliens Restrictions Act was passed) to ensure that Jewish immigrants received considerate treatment and to provide help with naturalisation problems. Britain remained a place of refuge well into the twentieth century, particularly with the growth of fascism in Europe in the 1930s and the accompanying rise of anti-Semitism. The years 1933-1945 threatened the very survival of Anglo-Jewry. In 1936 the Jewish Defence Committee was created and launched an Outdoor Campaign to challenge the open-air meetings conducted by the British Union of Fascists. Anti-Fascist leaflets and literature were circulated and protest meetings supported by Christian Churches and other non-Jews were organised. The Committee also set about projecting a more positive image of Jewry. Co-operation with other faiths continues, most significantly perhaps in the close liaison with the Council of Christians and Jews. The Board also plays a major role in working with other faith communities through the Three Faiths Forum and the Inter Faith Network for the UK, as well as in various governmental committees, for example the Inner Cities Religious Council.

Following the Nazi genocide of six million European Jews during the Second World War, the Board of Deputies set about the work of reconstruction in Britain and throughout the world. In 1950 it convened the first Conference of Jewish Communities in the British Commonwealth when representatives from communities in the Commonwealth met to discuss matters of mutual interest. At the first meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco the Board was represented. Dr. D. Mowshowitch prepared surveys of the conditions of European Jewry as the Board helped these communities to rebuild, and the Foreign Affairs Committee had an active role in the negotiations for Jewish reparations. The Board is a member of the Co-ordinating Board of Jewish Organisations, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference), the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and the World Jewish Congress. It has helped in the rehabilitation of Holocaust survivors and works to secure compensation and restitution for them. In 1983 a Holocaust Memorial was set up in Hyde Park in London at the instigation of the Board of Deputies. More recently the Board played a significant role in the struggle to secure financial compensation for assets looted during the Nazi era and for deposits in confiscated bank accounts. The Board was also involved in providing grants to needy Holocaust survivors from payments from the UK Foreign Office and the Swiss Fund for Holocaust-era Compensation.

Education remains a keen interest of the Board. In 1853 grants were made to Jewish Day Schools after the Board had negotiated the matter with the government. Public examinations set for Jewish Sabbaths and festivals presented Jewish candidates with severe problems. The Education Committee of the Board worked hard to have all examinations set at more convenient times or to have alternative examination dates arranged for Jewish candidates. The Board of Deputies works with local and private education authorities to combat racism, anti-Zionism and religious discrimination in schools and colleges. Before the migrations of North African Jews in 1948, the Board played an active role in the administration of schools in the region.

The Board of Deputies has always fought anti-Semitism in whatever guise and degree it manifests itself. Much of this work is routine and takes place at both the communal and the individual level. The Board is proud to describe itself as “… the focus and muscle of its [Jewish Community’s] defence …”. Agitation against Shechita (the Jewish method of slaughtering animals for food) and Circumcision continues to be opposed. Educating and informing non-Jews about Judaism, Israel and the UK Jewish community continues to the present day and is an important aspect of the work of the Board.

Anti-Semitism in the former Soviet Union was attacked during the Cold War period. The plight of Soviet Jews, the refusal of the Soviet authorities to allow freedom of worship and the right to emigrate to Israel, were drawn to public attention by vociferous campaigning. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Board worked to present a co-ordinated response to the situation and established the National Council for Soviet Jewry (later the Council for Jews in the Former Soviet Union) to administer the campaign in 1975. (The archives of the National Campaign for Soviet Jewry are catalogued at the Greater London Record Office as ACC/3087.)

The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 provided the Board with a new focus. Palestine and the proposed establishment of a Jewish homeland had long been a preoccupation for Anglo-Jewry; the Balfour Declaration of 1917 had been addressed to the Vice-President of the Board, Lord Rothschild. A Palestine Committee of the Board of Deputies existed from 1923 until 1948 when it became the Eretz Israel Committee. The Board’s International Division (which replaced the former Israel Committee) now acts as a bridge between the UK Jewish community and Israel and seeks to promote a sense of identity and solidarity with Israel. Anti-Zionism in Britain is monitored and countered at all levels. The Board also has close links with the Israeli Embassy.

In 1940 the Trades Advisory Council was established to combat anti-Semitism in trade (one of its more persistent manifestations); to encourage good relations between Jewish and non-Jewish traders; to licence Jewish shop-keepers to work on Sundays; and to give advice during a period of food rationing and close government observation. The Council was able to issue certificates to Jewish traders who wished to work on Sundays (before restrictions on Sunday trading were eased in the 1990s) and give support to Jewish employees asked to work on Jewish High Holy Days and Sabbaths. It was able to arbitrate in business disputes. After some years as a practically independent body affiliated to the Board, the Trades Advisory Council now operates as a integral part of the Board. It still performs valuable work in helping employees who experience anti-Semitism and discrimination in the workplace. The Board has also issued guidance to employers and employees about good practice, including ways of approaching requests from Jewish employees who wish to maintain their religious observance.

The Board of Deputies has been served throughout its history by individuals not only active in community affairs, but in other spheres of public life. Moses Montefiore stands as the single most prominent figure, but other notables include Sir Philip Magnus, Judge Neville Laski, Professor Selig Brodetsky, Lucien Wolf, Lord Barnett Janner, Michael Fidler, Lord Fisher and Lord Greville Janner. Officers of the Board have always represented Jewish interests at the highest level.

The history of the Board of Deputies has not always been a peaceful one either in its relations with the world at large or within the British Jewish community. There have been controversies about its structures and procedures; controversies over representation from the Orthodox and Liberal sides of the community; and controversies over Zionism and Israel’s politics. The ongoing problems which Israel has with her Arab neighbours have presented difficulties for the Jewish Diaspora. There have been clashes with other communal groups over policy and of course full and frank dialogue with non-Jewish individuals and organisations. Lively debate on virtually every subject has been a constant feature.

What began as a small body focused on the capital is now an institution of international standing. At its core remain the founding principles; the Board of Deputies retains the privilege of personal approach to the Sovereign on state occasions (most recently on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II); it continues an active interest in the lives of fellow Jews abroad; it seeks to protect, to promote and to represent UK Jewry.