List of British Jews

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List of British Jews is a list of prominent Jews from the United Kingdom and its predecessor states.

Although the first Jews may have arrived on the island of Great Britain with the Romans, it was not until the Norman Conquest of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organised Jewish communities first appeared in England. These existed until 1290 when the Jewish population of England was expelled by King Edward I of England.

There was never a corresponding expulsion from Scotland. The eminent scholar David Daiches states in his autobiographical Two Worlds: A Scottish born Jewish Childhood that there are grounds for saying that Scotland is the only Immigrant country with no history of state persecution of Jews.

Jews were re-admitted to England and Wales in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell. Slightly more than 200 years later, in 1858 they were emancipated, that is, accepted as full citizens. In the late 19th century, there was mass Jewish immigration to England from Russia due to Russian domestic policy. In the 1930s, the country accepted many refugees from Nazism. The Jewish population peaked at 450,000, but has since declined due to low birth-rate, intermarriage and emigration, mainly of the younger generation to Israel. According to the 2001 census, the current population is around 295,000, most of whom live in London. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021.

Academic figures

Scientists

See List of British Jewish scientists, which includes economists.

Historians

Medical

Philosophers

Social scientists

Theologians and Hebraists

Others

  • Sidney Greenbaum, Quain Professor of English Language and Literature, University College London 1983–90[90]

Artists

Fine arts

Designers and architects

Arts and literature

Performing arts

See List of British Jewish entertainers (includes classical musicians and actors as "entertainers").

Writers

See List of British Jewish writers.

Business and the professions

Civil service

Finance

Law

Manufacturing

Media

Military

Property

Retail

Police

Political figures

See List of British Jewish politicians.

Religious and communal leaders

Show business

See List of British Jewish entertainers.

Sports

Philanthropists

Miscellaneous

See also

References

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