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Country
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GB
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Language of name of institution
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eng
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Contact information: postal address
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40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB
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Contact information: phone number
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0044 20 7332 3820
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Contact information: email
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ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk
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Reference number
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ACC/3121
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (official language of the state)
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Board of Deputies of British Jews
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Language of title
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eng
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Creator / accumulator
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Board of Deputies of British Jews
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Date(s)
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1760/2003
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Language(s)
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eng
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por
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Extent
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108.85 linear metres
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Photographic Images
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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This collection gathers records of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and it is central to the history of the modern Jewish community in Britain. It covers virtually every facet of Jewish life in Britain from the 18th to the 20th centuries - assimilation, education, political emancipation, Shechita, anti-Semitism. The archive is particularly interesting on the conditions of Jewry outside the UK - there is a lot of information, for example, on the rise of fascism in mainland Europe in the 1930s and the Holocaust. Records include board minutes, papers of presidents and secretaries, records of individual committees and departments, correspondence with Jewish congregations in London, the UK and overseas, annual reports, Trades Advisory Council publications and other publications produced by the Board, photographs and videotapes. Joseph Salvador (1716-1786) was the first Honorary Secretary of the Board of Deputies.
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Archival history
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The collection was deposited at London Metropolitan Archives in multiple accessions between 1992 and 2012.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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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 Congregation to form a standing committee to pay homage to George III on his accession to the throne. 1760 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 hold joint meetings from time to time, becoming a single body from 1817. In the 1830s, the role and reputation of the Board began to expand with the election of Moses Montefiore as President of the Board in 1835 and with official recognition from Parliament. In 1836, Montefiore was instrumental in drawing up the first constitution and establishing the name Deputies of British Jews. In 1840, Montefiore pleaded for persecuted Jews in Damascus and ever since then the Board has been actively concerned with the interests and rights of co-religionists abroad. Moses Montefiore was President until 1874. By the end of the nineteenth century, when the Anglo-Jewish community had achieved emancipation on the level of fellow non-Jewish citizens, thousands of Jews from Eastern Europe started to migrate to the UK to escape Tsarist oppression. The Aliens Committee was formed in 1905 (the year the first Aliens Restrictions Act was passed) to ensure that these immigrants, or Aliens, 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. In 1950, the Board convened the first Conference of Jewish Communities in the British Commonwealth, and was represented at the first meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco. The Board is a member of the Co-ordinating Board of Jewish Organisations and the World Jewish Congress. It has helped in the rehabilitation of Holocaust survivors and works to secure compensation and restitution for them. The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 provided the Board with a new focus. A Palestine Committee of the Board of Deputies existed from 1923 until 1948 when it became the Erets Israel Committee. The Committee now acts as a bridge between the Anglo-Jewish community and Israel and seeks to promote a sense of identity with Israel among the Anglo-Jewry. In 1940, the Trades Advisory Council was established to combat anti-Semitism in trade, 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. It is also able to arbitrate in business disputes.
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System of arrangement
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The collection is arranged in eight sections: Board minutes; Presidents and Secretaries; Committees and departments; Congregations; General correspondence; Finance; Publications; and Images and audio-visual.
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Access, restrictions
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These records are available only with written permission from the depositor. Records containing personal information may be subject to additional restrictions.
