Harry Freedman

Britain'S Jews Harry Freedman

Key issues are at the root of this entirely new and fresh book based on conversations with Jews from all walks of life.

The opening chapter looks at the apparent growth of confidence in the British Jewish community today. In a world in which anti-Semitism is on the rise, is this increased confidence a benefit or a danger? This book presents a clear insight into the psychology of modern Jews, their self-perception, their perception of the non-Jewish world, and in turn the Jewish perception of the outsiders' view.

In recent surveys, it has been noted that the UK is the European country in which Jewish people feel the safest and the least endangered. All this has led to a new climate with a new self-confidence in which Jewish people can flourish and take a full part in society, self-assured in both their Jewish and British identities.

The author points to a concrete example of this: in the Finchley Road in London there is a huge building called JW3. This is a cultural centre for Jewish people. Its architecture is brash and modernist. The author takes this building as a symbol of a new self-confidence but immediately asks if this is really a good thing. He is not uncritical of such self-confidence.

He then goes on to examine the place of Jewish people in contemporary society - in law (Lord Woolf), in medicine (Lord Winston), and in business (Philip Green). Is this public image good for society? Is it good for the wellbeing of Jews themselves, whose 'chosenness' antagonises so many people? Harry Freedman focuses on the role of the late Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, who was politically ambitious and was made a peer by Gordon Brown. Was he ambitious personally or for the Jewish community as a whole in order to have greater influence on public life?

Finally, Freedman asks, is there a rise in anti-Semitism today and will this be exacerbated by the new self-confidence?
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