250 Years of Convention and Contention: A History of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, 1760-2010

In November 1760, the leaders of the Bevis Marks synagogue in London established a committee to consider how the synagogue should pay homage to King George III, who had just ascended the throne. This committee evolved into what we know today as the Board of Deputies, the representative body of Jews in Britain. This is the first comprehensive history of the Board. The history of the Board is about disputes, controversies, factions, responding to crises, protecting Jewish religious observance, and providing the Jewish community with direction and leadership. Langham covers issues such as emancipation, Sunday trading, marriage and divorce laws, combating antisemitism and fascism, pogroms in Russia, the rise of Zionism, the Holocaust and Israel. The book concludes by looking back over the last 250 years thus enabling the reader to answer for himself the question ‘Has the Board been good for the Jews?’. The book will appeal to the general reader as well as those interested in Jewish history.