Snapshots of Modern Jewish History

Phase 3 of the Uncovering UCL’s Jewish Pamphlet Collections project is now well under way. Last academic year we started a pilot Connected Curriculum initiative in partnership with UCL’s Department of Hebrew & Jewish Studies, where student volunteers helped to enhance the digitised pamphlets with accurate searchable transcriptions. The pilot will continue next academic year: if you’re interested in taking part, contact us for details. The group of volunteers was led by Hebrew & Jewish Studies PhD student William Pimlott, who selected a shortlist of pamphlets for the volunteers to choose from. William has also curated an exhibition, Snapshots of Modern Jewish History. He presented the exhibition to UCL students, staff and members of the public in June as part of UCL Special Collections Presents… and it is now installed in cases outside the Donaldson Room in the Main Library until 13th August. William writes “UCL Special Collections is endowed with remarkable documents that testify to the richness of modern Jewish history. Here we have selected a few that would interest the public and encourage visitors to step deeper into our collections.” Here are the items included in the exhibition, with links to the digitised pamphlets:

1. Todah ṿe-ḳol zimrah = Form of prayer and thanksgiving for the successes obtained by the troops of Her Majesty and those of her allies in the Crimea … to be used in all the Synagogues of the United Congregations in the British Empire… London: Wertheimer, 1855.

MOCATTA BOUND PAMPHLETS 124, no. 10

Many immigrant British Jews identified proudly with the country they had made their home, and celebrations of military successes were occasions for manifestations of patriotism. This pamphlet is especially interesting as relations between Russia and Britain were important for British Jews due to the large Jewish population in the region.

2. Davis, Israel. Sir Moses Montefiore: a biographical sketch. London: “Jewish Chronicle” Office, 1885. From the library of Albert Montefiore Hyamson.

MOCATTA BOUND PAMPHLETS 103, no. 30

A towering figure across the world, and viewed by some historians as a crucial figure in the development of Jewish celebrities (some argue that Theodor Herzl took on this mantle), Montefiore lived for over a hundred years and was a crucial actor in British communal politics. His enormous philanthropy made Britain an important player in international Jewish developments too.

 

3. Montefiore, Moses. An appeal on behalf of the famishing Jews in the Holy Land. London: Wertheimer, 1854. Donated to the Mocatta Library by the Guildhall Library London.

MOCATTA BOUND PAMPHLETS 7, no. 1

Long before mass immigration to Palestine started there was a community of Jews in the Middle East that needed international support. This pamphlet calls for help but also plays a secondary function, fostering a sense of Jewish international solidarity.

4. Some account of the two journeys to Russia, undertaken by Sir M. Montefiore, Bart., in 1846 and 1872, to further the interests of the Russian Jews. London: Darling and Son, 1882. From the library of Asher Myers.

MOCATTA BOUND PAMPHLETS 64, no. 5

The demographic and cultural importance of Russian Jewry for international Jewry was indisputable, and the vulnerable situation they faced in Tsarist Russia (and in the context of other nationalisms developing in the region) provoked intense interest and concern for Jews across the world. Montefiore, as a leading international philanthropic Jewish leader, was involved in attempts to help them.

5. Highton, Henry. Syllabus of a course of lectures, addressed especially to Jews, to be delivered in … Whitechapel, London, on the subject of the Messiah as revealed in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets … [London: s.n., 1844] From the library of Asher Myers

MOCATTA PAMPHLETS A 106 HIG

Includes a handwritten letter to the editor of the Voice of Jacob, a Jewish newspaper, requesting him to include this syllabus in the next edition, and the editor’s reply, explaining why this would not be appropriate.

The East End of London has had Jewish connections dating back much further than the mass immigration of the 1880s onwards, and as long as there have been Jews there have been attempts by Christians to convert them.

6. The struggle for the Hebrew language in Palestine. Issued in German by the Actions Committee of the Zionist Organization; translated for the Federation of American Zionists. New York: [Federation of American Zionists], 1914. From the library of Albert Montefiore Hyamson.

MOCATTA ZIONIST BOUND PAMPHLETS 9, no. 3

It is now universally accepted that the language of Israel is Hebrew, but in the early pre-State years language was a fiercely contested issue, with many German Jews (and others) arguing that German ought to be the language of its scientific institutions. This pamphlet reports on this conflict (which Hebrew eventually won).

7. La Grande-Bretagne, la Palestine et les Juifs: le peuple juif célèbre sa charte nationale (Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews: the Jewish people celebrates its national charter). [London]: Organisation Sioniste, Bureau de Londres, 1918. From the library of Albert Montefiore Hyamson.

MOCATTA ZIONIST BOUND PAMPHLETS 8, no. 14

The Balfour declaration of 1917 was pivotal in Zionism’s development and the later establishment of the state of Israel. This pamphlet, printed in French, shows how Jewish communities all over the world linked Great Britain (and the Jewish community there) with the future of Zionism.

8. Great Britain. Air Ministry. Dos girangl fun Briṭanye: a din ṿe-ḥeshbn fun der lufṭ‑minisṭerye ṿegn di groyse ṭeg fun 8ṭn oygusṭ bizn 31ṭn oḳṭober 1940 (The Battle of Britain: an account from the Air Ministry about the greats days from the 8th of August to the 31st of October). Souvenir copy commemorating the Battle of Britain, in aid of the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund. [London: Galil Pub. Co., 1942?]

MOCATTA BOXED PAMPHLETS A 103 JEW

Yiddish was once a much more widely spoken language in Britain than it is today: there were newspapers, literary journals, weekly publications, theatres and artistic clubs and groups. This information pamphlet in Yiddish printed by the Government was designed to inform British Yiddish speakers (and perhaps those abroad) about one of the most crucial aerial battles of all time.