British Jews

British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History of the Jews in England (1066–1290) History of the Jews in England History of the Jews in Scotland History of the Jews in Wales and History of the Jews in Northern Ireland The first recorded Jewish community in Britain was brought to England in 1070 by King William the Conqueror, who believed that what he assumed to be its commercial skills would make his newly won country more prosperous. At the end of the 12th century, a series of blood libels and fatal pogroms hit England, particularly the east coast. Notably, on 16 March 1190, in the run up to the Third Crusade, the Jewish population of York was massacred at the site where Clifford's Tower now stands, and King Edward I of England passed the Statute of the Jewry (Statutum de Judaismo) in 1275, restricting the community's activities, most notably outlawing the practice of usury (charging interest). When, 15 years later, Edward found that many of these provisions were ignored, he expelled the Jews from England. They emigrated to countries such as Poland which protected them by law. A small English community persisted in hiding despite the expulsion. Jews were not banned from Scotland, which until 1707 was an independent kingdom; however, there is no record of a Jewish presence in Scotland before the 18th century. Jews were also not banned in Wales at the time, but Wales was eventually annexed to England under Henry VIII, at which point the ban extended to Wales, also. There is only one known record of a Jew in Wales between 1290 and the annexation, but it is possible individuals did persist there beyond 1290. A small community of conversos was identified in Bristol in 1609 and made to leave. In 1656, Oliver Cromwell made it clear that the ban on Jewish settlement in England and Wales would no longer be enforced, although when Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israel brought a petition to allow Jews to return, the majority of the Protectorate Government turned it down.