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Remembering to Remember," "Remembering to Benefit," "Remembering to Forget": The Variety of Memories of Jews and the Holocaust in Postcommunist Poland
Author(s): Michlic, Joanna Beata
Date: 2012
Topics: Holocaust Memorials, Holocaust Commemoration, Holocaust, Main Topic: Holocaust and Memorial, Memory
Abstract: Poland presents the most advanced case of the transformation of the memory of Jews and the Holocaust in all of postcommunist Europe. For that reason, it can serve as a paradigm in comparative studies of the scope, dynamics, complexities, and challenges of this memory transformation.  The memory of Jews and the Holocaust in postcommunist Poland has persistently occupied a central stage in public debate since 1989. At present, the more than twenty-year-old boom of the “theater” of Jewish memory shows no sign of declining. This does not, however, mean that the archeology of the Polish Jewish past has been completed and that a broad public consensus has been reached on how to remember the Jews and the Holocaust, especially the dark uncomfortable past in Polish-Jewish relations showing Christian (ethnic) Poles in a bad light.  One can differentiate three key dimensions in this landscape of memory: “remembering to remember,” “remembering to benefit,” and “remembering to forget.” The first underscores the void left after the genocide of Polish Jewry, and Polish-Jewish relations in all their aspects. In “remembering to benefit,” the key intention behind the recalling of the Jews and the Holocaust is to achieve tangible goals. In “remembering to forget,” the memory of Jews and the Holocaust is regarded as an awkward problem.  In Poland’s immediate future, these three modes of remembering Jews and the Holocaust will persist. This landscape of memory will continue to resemble a film with a multiple array of scenes—many fascinating and intellectually and morally uplifting, others confusing, hypocritical, intellectually dull, morally despicable, and opportunistic.
Jewish Life in Ukraine at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Part Two
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2001
Topics: International Relations, Security, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract:

This survey of contemporary issues in Ukrainian Jewish life provides information on the following topics: local Jewish community organizations, Jewish welfare needs, Jewish education, community property, emigration, and future prospects. Part one of this article can be found at http://hdl.handle.net/10207/17996
Jewish Life in Ukraine at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Part One
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2001
Topics: Demography, History, Jewish Organisations, Jewish Leadership, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract:

This survey of contemporary issues in Ukrainian Jewish life provides detailed information on the following topics: contemporary Ukrainian political and economic climate; Jewish history; Jewish demography; contemporary antisemistism; indigenous Jewish leadership; the role of international Jewish organizations; and Ukrainian national Jewish organizations.
 
Swiss Jewry: Between Continuity and Decline
Author(s): Erlanger, Simon
Date: 2015
Topics: Demography, Jewish Community, Jewish Continuity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: In 2014, after 150 years of continuous existence, the Lucerne Jewish community hardly exists. The decline of the Jewish community in Lucerne is mirrored in many places throughout Switzerland. There are fewer than 18,000 Jews in Switzerland, while the number of Swiss Jews in Israel is estimated at some 14,000, with many younger and more committed Jews relocating there. The Swiss Jewish community is shrinking at an alarming rate and has far less influence than in previous years.
A Special Case? Direct Swiss Democracy, the European Debate on Islam, and the Diminishing Political Stature of Swiss Jewry
Author(s): Erlanger, Simon
Date: 2012
Topics: Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, Democracy, Israel Advocacy, Jewish Politics, Main Topic: Other, Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations
Abstract: Thanks to Swiss direct democracy, Switzerland is taking a leading role in the debate on the European role of Islam. Whereas the Muslim community in Switzerland is growing fast and likely to gain influence, the Jewish community today totals less than eighteen thousand, not much different from the 1950s. Given its small size, high age profile, and emigration and assimilation, the Jewish community cannot be counted on to exert influence in situations of need for Israel, Diaspora Jews, or even for itself, and no political role is foreseeable for Swiss Jewry in the future.
The Paradox of the Italian Jewish Experience in 1990-2010
Author(s): Nissan, Ephraim
Date: 2011
Topics: Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, Discrimination, Jewish - Christian Relations, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Main Topic: Antisemitism
Abstract: There is a paradox to the Italian Jewish experience in the 2000s. Jews are more integrated than ever since 1945, While the Jews are indeed more accepted than ever, sporadic expressions of direct, incontrovertible anti-Semitism have occurred even in the circles of power, and even at the highest levels. For all the persistence, and sometimes transmogrification, of hostile attitudes toward Jews and Israel from some quarters, there is often sympathy from persons from different walks of life. And since the end of the First Republic in the early 1990s, also some of Italy's politicians allow themselves to express sympathy for Israel.
The Slow Disappearance of Turkey's Jewish Community
Author(s): Bali, Rifat
Date: 2011
Topics: Aliyah, Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, Community Relations, Diaspora, Immigration, International Relations, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Migration, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Future
Abstract: Turkey's Jewish community is one of the few remaining Diaspora Jewish communities in a country with a Muslim majority. Despite its apparent dynamism, its long-term viability is doubtful. The community does not have any influence or play any role worth mentioning in Turkey's cultural, political, or intellectual life. Furthermore, in recent years the entire community has become the target of much resentment and hostile rhetoric from the country's Islamist and ultranationalist sectors. For the situation to change, Turkish society would have to veer away from the current insular nationalist and Islamist atmosphere and move in a more liberal, democratic, multicultural direction. Turkey could then both come to grips with the darker aspects of its past and work for a different and better future. At present, the indications that such a transition might occur are mixed at best.
Scotland’s Jews: Community and Political Challenge
Author(s): Borowski, Ephraim
Date: 2010
Topics: Representation, Antisemitism, Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations, Interfaith Relations, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: The Jewish community in Scotland numbered eighteen thousand in the 1950s but has now shrunk to around ten thousand, largely through emigration. The community is overwhelmingly concentrated in the Greater Glasgow area with around a thousand Jews in Edinburgh and smaller numbers scattered around the country.
When the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999, with responsibility for almost all home affairs, the Jewish community set up the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) as a democratic representative body to speak on its behalf. SCoJeC monitors legislation and informs Parliament and civic and religious bodies on Jewish issues and attitudes.
SCoJeC has been very successful in influencing Scottish government policy in areas such as family law, looted Holocaust art, the census, and health and safety issues. It also has responsibility for outreach work to scattered Jews in outlying areas, ensuring their access to Jewish facilities in the larger centers as well as arranging activities in remote centers in the Highlands.
There has been historically little antisemitism in Scotland, and in particular good relations with the churches. Recently there has been a significant increase, much of it associated with events in the Middle East. Specifically, the Scottish trade union movement has pursued a policy of boycotting Israel despite a dialogue with the Jewish community aimed at understanding both sides of the conflict.
The Roles of the Jews in Italian Society
Author(s): Segre, Dan V.
Date: 2010
Topics: National Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Most Italians think there are many times more Jews in Italy than the thirty-one thousand paying members of the Italian community. Native Italian Jews probably number no more than fifteen thousand. There are sizable communities of Libyan (mainly in Rome) and Lebanese and Iranian origin (mainly in Milan). The false perception of a large number of Jews in Italy results from the fact that several Jews have indeed played key roles in Italian society over the past century and a half.
Jews see themselves – and also are seen as such by many educated Italians – as one of the “tribes” of what can best be called “the Italian nation in the making.” The rise in recent decades of the Northern League shows once again that the idea of Italy as a single state is a contested one. In such a context there is suddenly a place again for the Jews as one of the distinct Italian groups, as was the case for many centuries before Italian unity.
Another development of the last decades has been the reinvention of the Italian Fascist Party. Most of its members joined in 1995 a new movement, Alleanza Nazionale. Its leader, Gianfranco Fini needed the Jews and Israel to give legitimization to his party as genuine democrats.
External developments have fostered a sudden reemergence of Italian Jewry. This has made Italian Jews again proud of their identity.
Insights into the Situation of the Jews in the Netherlands
Author(s): Markens, Henri
Date: 2009
Topics: Demography, Antisemitism, Antisemitism: Muslim, Restitution and Reparations, Integration, Jewish Schools, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: Demographic research by the Jewish social organization JMW shows that three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish community, which numbers about 30,000, is not organized in one of the three religious organizations-the Ashkenazi, Progressive, and Portuguese. Among other things, this means they do not send their children to a Jewish school and, if they are ill, do not go to the Jewish hospital. Close to half of the Jews live in Amsterdam and the adjacent southern suburb of Amstelveen.
The immigration of Muslims and the rise of Islam in the Netherlands have created problems for the Jewish community and will continue to do so. There are about one million Muslims in the Netherlands. Their influence on the political system is increasing. This cannot be positive for the Jews. The more power the Muslim community gains, the more it will weaken the Jewish community’s relations with a number of ministries.
The Jewish community faces increasing anti-Semitism. This has led to enhanced security measures. It also threatens to intensify attitudes based on fear.
An important element in Dutch Jewish history over the past decade was the restitution negotiations. As a result, the Dutch government made a payment of 400 million guilders (180 million Euros) to the Dutch community. Banks, insurance companies, and the stock exchange made additional payments that totaled 340 million guilders (155 million Euros).
The Jews in Poland: Recent Developments
Author(s): Schudrich, Michael
Date: 2009
Topics: Jewish Renewal, Cemeteries, Jewish - Christian Relations, Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: The Polish Jewish community is growing and the average age of its members is declining. The process of Jews discovering their Jewish origins and wanting to “do something Jewish” is likely to continue for years to come. A number of new rabbis have arrived from abroad in recent years. Developing local leadership, however, remains slow.
Many issues from the Jewish past in Poland have to be dealt with. It is difficult to strike a balance between focusing on the future and dealing with problems of the past. About 1,300 of the 1,400 remaining Jewish cemeteries are still unattended. Also, information is increasingly forthcoming about unmarked mass graves.
General Polish interest in Jews and Israel is intensifying. More and more small non-Jewish groups want to “do something Jewish.” A number of them are involved in cleaning up unattended Jewish cemeteries.
Relations with the Catholic Church remain ambivalent. Some bishops take a very positive attitude toward Jews. The teachings of the late Pope John Paul II play a major role in their attitude. Others are traditionalists and hold problematic positions toward Jews.
Jewish-Muslim Relations in Sweden
Author(s): Tossavainen, Mikael
Date: 2009
Topics: Community Relations, Islam, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Security, Tolerance, Interfaith Dialogue, Antisemitism: Muslim, Main Topic: Other, Interfaith Relations
Abstract:

The author discusses the Jewish and Muslim populations of Sweden, outlines venues and efforts for interfaith dialogue between the two groups, identifies issues of mutual interest (including promoting tolerance for ritual slaughter and circumcision), identifies issues of conflict, and notes instances of attacks on Jews.
Muslims and Jews in Switzerland
Author(s): Erlanger, Simon
Date: 2008
Topics: Antisemitism: Muslim, Interfaith Dialogue, Interfaith Relations, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: The Muslim population in Switzerland has increased rapidly from 16,353 in 1970 to an estimated 400,000 persons today, while the general population grew from around six million to 7.6 million. The Jewish community today is some 18,000 strong, a number that has not changed since the 1950s. Whereas the Jewish community, given its small size and its age profile, is likely to shrink and lose influence, the Muslim community can be expected to become more influential. Already up to eight percent of the population in the large cities is Muslim. Muslims in Switzerland are younger and less well educated than the average, whereas the Jewish community is older than average and the best-educated group in the country.
The Muslim community in Switzerland is marked by extreme religious and ethnic diversity and hence, also, by a variety of attitudes toward Jews and Israel. There has so far been no openly anti-Jewish mass movement among Muslims with multiple hate crimes committed such as in France. Kurds, Turks, and Bosnians tend to be more secular and friendlier toward Jews than Arabs from North Africa and the Middle East.
There has been some cooperation between the Jewish and Muslim communities with the former even providing support to the latter. Certain Muslim groups want to learn from the established Jewish community how to gain legal, political, and social acceptance in Switzerland.
Muslims have not been the driving force behind the Swiss version of the new Europe-wide anti-Semitism. However, there is a growing radicalization of disaffected Muslim youth, with Islamism gaining ground among certain groups.
Ireland's Jews: Past, Present, Future
Author(s): Miller, Rory
Date: 2008
Topics: International Relations, Security, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: The author reviews the history of the Irish Jewish community, the roles Jews have played in Ireland's history, culture and economy, the nature and extent of antisemitism in Ireland, the structure of Ireland's organized Jewish community, relations between Ireland and Israel, and relations between Irish Jews and Irish Muslims.
Muslim-Jewish Interactions in Great Britain
Author(s): Whine, Michael
Date: 2008
Topics: Jewish - Muslim Relations, Antisemitism: Muslim, Interfaith Dialogue, Interfaith Relations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: There are an estimated two million Muslims in the United Kingdom. The largest communities come from the Indian subcontinent, in the following order: Pakistan, Bangladesh, India. The Jewish community numbers approximately three hundred thousand.
Despite outward appearances there is a broad range of Jewish-Muslim dialogue groups and other kinds of interaction. This includes cultural associations, religious dialogues-in which sometimes Christians are also involved-as well as interaction on the local level between synagogues and mosques.
On the other side of the spectrum there are many violent attacks by Muslims on Jews. Among identified perpetrators of violent incidents, Muslims number much higher than their share of the population. The main sources of Muslim antisemitic hate propaganda are in certain Islamic groups, madrassas, and mosques. Some campuses have become hostile environments for Jews openly identifying with Israel.
On some religious issues such as circumcision Muslims and Jews have common interests. On others, such as the introduction of religious law, their positions greatly diverge.
Bosnian Jewry: A Small Community Meets a Unique Challenge During the 1990s War
Author(s): Ceresnjes, Ivan
Date: 2007
Topics: Finance, Poverty, Jewish Organisations, Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations, Care and Welfare, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: During wars, Jewish communities often become scapegoats and victims of the combatants. In the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s, the opposite happened. The Jewish community in the country’s capital Sarajevo extended humanitarian services indiscriminately to people of all religions and was respected by the three warring parties, Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Roman Catholic Croats.
Support from the American Joint Distribution Committee and other foreign groups enabled the Jewish community to provide free food, medicine, as well as radio and mail services.
During the battle for Sarajevo the Jewish community evacuated a thousand Jews and two thousand non-Jews in eleven convoys and planes.
At present, six Jewish communities remain in Bosnia-Herzegovina with a total of a thousand members. Of these seven hundred are in Sarajevo and the remainder in Mostar, Zenica, Tuzla, Banja Luka, and Doboj.
Christian-Jewish Relations in the Netherlands
Author(s): Marx, Tzvi
Date: 2007
Topics: Jewish - Christian Relations, Interfaith Dialogue, Christianity, Antisemitism, International Relations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: The establishment of the state of Israel-and not the Jewish suffering during the Shoah-has catalyzed in the Netherlands a serious rethinking of the relationship of Christianity to Judaism. The theology that Christians had replaced Jews as the “new” Israel was belied by the reempowered Jewish polity in the Land.
Christian-Jewish relations have several components. One aspect is that a number of Christians study Judaism. A second is interfaith dialogue, and a third concerns Christian attitudes toward Israel. These are to some extent intertwined.
The current Israeli-Palestinian struggle provides a cover for rehabilitating ancient anti-Jewish feelings. The deeper, historically conditioned anti-Jewish tendencies are not easily disposed of. The culture of paranoiac anti-Judaism is still alive.
Post-Soviet Jewry on the Cusp of Its Third Decade - Part 2
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2011
Topics: International Relations, Security, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community
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Post-Soviet Jewry on the Cusp of Its Third Decade - Part 1
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2011
Topics: Affiliation and Belonging, Antisemitism, Demography, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract:

Demographically, post-Soviet Jewry has seen an overall decline resulting from assimilation, intermarriage, low fertility, high mortality, and emigration of younger age cohorts. Some  demographers believe that less than 500,000 Jews remain in the post-Soviet states. An intermarriage rate that some view as exceeding 80 percent creates complex situations for those Jewish groups that prefer to confine their programs to halachically Jewish individuals.

Jewish identity among Jews in Russia and Ukraine is most likely to be expressed as a sense of Jewish heritage, in particular, a common cultural or intellectual heritage, rather than a sense of common spirituality or sharply focused religious practice. Post-Soviet Jews also tend to believe that Jews should be familiar with modern Israel, but not necessarily feel obligated to live in Israel.
The Jews of Moldova, 1998
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 1998
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Jewish Community, Jewish Education, Jewish History, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: The author reviews the postwar history of Moldova up to 1998, the and the contemporary situation of Moldova's (estimated) 30,000 Jews. The author explains that the Jewish community of Moldova is more conscious of its heritage and history than Jews of other post-Soviet states, mostly because Moldova was integrated into the Soviet Union relatively late (1940). She outlines the state of Jewish institutions, Jewish education, and Israel-related activity in Moldova.
Jewish Life in Independent Ukraine: Fifteen Years After the Soviet Collapse (Part 2)
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2007
Topics: Finance, Poverty, Jewish Organisations, Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations, Care and Welfare, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Jewish Life in Independent Ukraine: Fifteen Years After the Collapse (Part 1)
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2007
Topics: Demography, Assimilation, Antisemitism, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: The author outlines the situation of the Jewish population of Ukraine, estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000. The population is declining, the author explains, due to a low birthrate, and high levels of intermarriage and assimilation. Jewish community life in Ukraine is organized and maintained mostly by foreigners, the author notes. Popular antisemitism is also on the rise.
Is There a Future for Jews in Switzerland?
Author(s): Erlanger, Simon
Date: 2007
Topics: Jewish Community, Antisemitism, Jewish Future, Assimilation, Emigration, Jewish Continuity, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: Swiss Jewry seems to be set for steady decline. There are today some eighteen thousand Jews in Switzerland-the same number as in 1900, whereas the general population has doubled since then. Assimilation and emigration, mainly to Israel, have reduced the Jewish population.
Jewish numbers were never high in Switzerland although many Jewish communities existed there in the Middle Ages. A pattern began in 1348 when many cities in the territories of what was to become the Swiss Confederacy murdered their Jews and expelled the survivors.
Jews were denied entry and residence for many centuries. By the seventeenth century a small Jewish population had been established in Swiss-conquered areas. The French occupation of 1798 bolstered the Jewish presence. Discrimination, however, continued until outside pressure led to emancipation in 1868-1874.
After World War I Jewish immigration was made impossible, culminating in the anti-Jewish refugee policy during World War II. In the postwar period Swiss Jews experienced a new acceptance and prosperity despite demographic weakness. More recently a largely homemade anti-Semitism has arisen that gained momentum with the restitution debate of the 1990s.
The Chief Rabbi’s View on Jews and Poland
Author(s): Schudrich, Michael
Date: 2006
Topics: Jewish Community, Chief Rabbinate, Antisemitism, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Jewish Heritage, Restitution and Reparations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: At least twenty thousand Jews live in Poland. The two leading organizations, the Union of Jewish Communities and the Cultural and Social Association of Jews, each have about two thousand members.
The subject of Jews and Poland involves three interrelated matters. The first concerns what is currently happening to the Jews living in Poland. The second is Poland’s Jewish heritage, including its physical remnants: cemeteries, synagogues, communal and private property. The third has to do with the nature of Polish- Jewish relations.
Poland is still in a major state of flux. Since 1989, official Poland has wanted to reexamine its relations with the Jews. The main reasons for this are the teachings of Pope John Paul II, Poland’s admiration for the United States, and the rejection among the younger generation of everything their parents and grandparents stood for.
Although the main government force, the Law and Justice Party, is not anti- Semitic, the coalition now contains an anti-Semitic party, the Polish Families League, whose leader, Roman Giertych, is deputy prime minister and minister of education. This poses many dilemmas for the Jewish community, and Israel is boycotting Giertych.
The Future of the Jews in France
Author(s): Trigano, Shmuel
Date: 2006
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: There are approximately 550,000 Jews in France. About 60 percent live in the Paris region, mainly in suburban areas. In Paris itself, the number of Jews is shrinking with the exception of the capital’s west. Marseilles is the second largest Jewish agglomeration in France. There, too, most Jews live in the suburbs. As in the Paris environs, many Jews are poor, either unemployed or low-income. The next largest Jewish communities are Lyon and Strasbourg.
Among the Jewish institutions in France, three occupy central positions. The Consistoire Central de France (Consistoire) deals with religious issues; the Fonds Social Juif Unifié (FSJU) addresses social concerns; and the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF) is the roof organization of France’s major Jewish institutions.
The major Jewish organizations in France are in crisis. The organizational model that has served the French community in the past decades is no longer viable. It is unclear whether a new workable model will emerge that can replace it.
Anti-Semitism in the Post-Soviet States
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2003
Topics: Antisemitism, Main Topic: Antisemitism, Politics
Abstract:

The author discusses the level, nature and characteristics of antisemitism currently extant in the former Soviet Union -- specifically Russia and Ukraine, the only post-Soviet states with substantial Jewish populations. The author reviews phenomena including acts of violence committed against Jews (and perceived Jews), violence against other ethnic groups, government antisemitism, fascism, radical political parties, Church antisemitism, and the fragility of Jewish institutions.
Representation in Five Jewish Communities: Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the USA
Author(s): Elazar, Daniel J.
Date: 1999
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Other, Representation
Abstract: The author describes archetypes of communal organization for Jewish communities in five countries where Jewish affiliation is entirely voluntary, and comments on the relationship between culture and patterns of communal organization, and, consequentially between culture and effective techniques for outreach and engagement.
The Challenges Facing British Jewry 
Author(s): Wagner, Leslie
Date: 2011
Topics: Antisemitism, Jewish Community, Affiliation and Belonging, Orthodox Judaism, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: The challenges facing British Jewry now are little different from those that have faced Diaspora Jewry generally over the past one hundred years or more, namely, the twin problems of assimilation and anti-Semitism. The author argues that there need be no fears about the Jewish identity of the strictly Orthodox community in the UK. The key to whether British Jewry can arrest its decline will be the performance of the other sections, and particularly the centrist Orthodox communities. Their challenge is to show that a Jewish lifestyle that is not strictly Orthodox can ensure Jewish continuity. 
The Revival of British Jewry
Author(s): Wagner, Leslie
Date: 2017
Topics: Jewish Revival, Jewish Renewal, Jewish Continuity, Demography, Antisemitism, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: It is unusual to find the words “revival” and “British Jewry” in the same sentence. Several decades ago, the title of this paper would have come as a surprise to the many critics of British Jewry. For example, in 1989, Professor Daniel Elazar observed that “the powers that be in British Jewry are content with the status quo and do not seek change.” Author Steven Brook (1990) scathingly remarked that the leadership of British Jewry “revels in its mediocrity, shallowness and philistinism.” And, in 1996, in the conclusion of his study, entitled Vanishing Diaspora: The Jews of Europe Since 1945, Professor Bernard Wasserstein stated that the Jews of Britain are “slowly but surely … fading away. Soon nothing will be left but a disembodied memory.”

The current claim that a revival of British Jewry has taken place is supported mainly by the excellent work of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) in London. The JPR has carried out an important analysis of the UK national census data of 2011 and supplemented it with its own more recent community studies, in particular, its 2013 National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) and its 2016 Jewish Schools report. To be sure, as with all sociological studies, particularly concerning Jews, there are less encouraging data that emphasize the challenges, failures and threats that confront the British Jewish community.

This essay, however, argues that the vibrancy of a community should not be judged by the threats that it faces. While threats and danger form an existential part of Jewish life, they do not necessarily determine the strength or weakness of a particular community. It is important that a community understands the nature of such threats and can organize to overcome them successfully. In doing so, the Jewish community in the U.K. provides evidence that it is vibrant and undergoing a revival. This study focuses on four aspects that show the revival of British Jewish life: demography; religious identity; educational and cultural activity; and confronting antisemitism.