After
the passing of Catholic Emancipation Act
of 1829, members of the Jewish Community were virtually the last group
that did not possess full civil and political rights. Jews was not
able to become members of the House of Commons
or the House of Lords.
Nor were also barred from the military and could not obtain degrees
from Oxford or Cambridge.
In 1850 approximately 20,000 Jews lived in London,
with a smaller number living outside the capital. Approximately 90
per cent had been born in Britain and the remainder were immigrants
from Europe.
In 1855 Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler established
the first Jewish College to train ministers. However, many Jewish
immigrants from Europe refused to accept the authority of the chief
rabbi. Many opposed the anti-Zionism of Hermann
Adler, who replaced his father a chief rabbi in 1890. Jewish immigration
increased after 1870 and by 1914 the Jewish population in Britain
had reached 300,000.
The granting of full civil and political rights was a slow and gradual
process. In 1858 Lionel
de Rothschild became the first Jewish MP who was permitted
to take his seat without taking the oath that involved the words "by
the true faith of a Christian". 1871 Parliament passed the Universities
Tests Act which opened both Oxford
and Cambridge to members of all religions
and in 1890 the last of the government posts became open to members
of the Jewish faith.
(1)
George
Lansbury, Looking Backwards and Forwards (1935)
The Jew, whether British or foreign, wherever he
was born and whatever his colour or creed, was for me even when I
was a boy "one of God's children". There are certain distinctions
between all of us, and there are distinctions between races too, though
these latter seem less marked when we investigate closely.
Jews do seem to have a facility for the quick acquisition of wealth
which the Gentiles would be only too glad to imitate. When times are
bad they never seem to suffer quite so badly as others; they stand
together and by one another. They care for their parents, and their
children are really loved. In the poorest parts mothers carry their
little ones to school wrapped up from the rain.
When trade unionism among the casual labourers and unskilled workers
was at a very low ebb - indeed, it was almost non-existent - it was
Jewish agitators who, by persistent propaganda, helped to bring them
into the British trade unions.
Some Jews are good Tories, others are Liberals, Communists and Socialists,
Trade Unionists and Co-operators. In the main, the best description
of them is that they are good citizens. I have known thousands of
them of all ages intimately and have received great kindness from
many of them. As I consider the change in East London's population
I am convinced that it is nonsense to pretend we have been injured
by the huge Jewish immigration. I think we have become better.
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