The Union of Jewish Literary Societies: A Creative Solution to the Question of Anglo-Jewish Identity

This lecture will look at the establishment and activity of the Union of Jewish Literary Societies (UJLS) as a creative and far-reaching solution to Anglo-Jewry`s growing crisis of identity at the beginning of the twentieth century. The unique nature of Anglo-Jewry after its re-establishment in England in the seventeenth century heightened the dilemma faced by Jews: whether to be English Jews or Jewish Englishmen. Acculturation and integration into the relatively tolerant English society at all levels were not only possible but also encouraged by the Anglo-Jewish leadership. This process of Anglicisation became so successful that the link to Jewish heritage over time became increasingly tenuous. The mass immigration of Jews to England from Eastern Europe in the last two decades of the nineteenth century added to the complexity of the problem. It changed the character and nature of Anglo-Jewry and raised additional identity challenges for the established community which had to be resolved. The UJLS was seen as one way of stemming the tide of the disappearing `Jewishness` of Anglo-Jewish identity. Ostensibly a cultural solution, I would like to suggest that the Union of Jewish Literary Societies also served a vital social role for the Anglo-Jewish community and the reconstruction of its identity.

Anglo-Jewry was also part of a much larger transnational Jewish network. Its multi-faceted identity reflected its position in relation to its host society, the Jewish communities of the United Kingdom and in the international arena of the British Empire and beyond. The UJLS reflected this diversity through its affiliate members and close working ties with similar organisations run by some of the most important contemporary Jewish communities abroad. This lecture will illustrate the importance of the UJLS` role in forming Anglo-Jewish identity because of its unique position in Anglo-Jewry.