The Jewish Contribution to English Law

Through 1858 to Modern Times

Black, Barrington

• Publisher: Waterside Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781914603044
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Jewish History
• Index: History

Packed with insights into Jewish life, The Jewish Contribution to English Law tells why Jews were drawn to the law. Charting history to and since 1858 and describing how many excelled in legal roles the book introduces readers to Jewish judges, barristers, solicitors and lawyer politicians. The story of Jewish emancipation is not well-known, nor how Jews came to make such a significant contribution to the law and democracy in England. This book recounts how Jews first came to England, were expelled, returned, and eventually assumed their place in Parliament and on the bench in court. It tells of the first Jewish politicians, lawyers and judges who later occupied prominent roles as President of the Supreme Court, Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls and Attorney-General. The turning point was an 1858 Act of Parliament which allowed Jews and others to take an oath compatible with their own religious beliefs (extending comparable benefits conferred on Catholics almost 70 years before). This opened the doors for the first unconverted Jewish MP, Lionel de Rothschild who won a seat in the House of Commons four times without until then being able to occupy it. The book surveys Jewish tradition from ancient times to the days when modern Governments turned to Jewish lawyers in troubling moments — and it lists lawyers famous and less well-known: judges, politicians, the innovators, the experts, and the mavericks who helped build the system we have today.

Index

A

Aaronberg, David 156

Aaron of York 38

Abraham 29

Abse, Leo 187

Abse, Rudolf 187

academic lawyers 129, 141, 145, 155, 165, 193, 194

Advisory Council on the Penal System 187

affirmation 27

Alba Radios 118

Albert, Prince 85

Alexander III 32

aliens 49

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 194

Amnesty International 192

Anglo-Jewry 103

Anglo-Jewish Association 75, 103, 124

anti-Semitism 14, 32, 47, 82, 162–163, 194, 219–221

Anton Piller order 129

apartheid 108, 192

arbitration 129, 133, 134, 141, 147, 151

Archer, Jeffrey 184

Arkush, Jonathan 157

arsenic 95

Arshad, Raffia 176

Ashiana Network 175

Ashkenazi 36, 101, 200

Assizes 38, 74

Association of Women Barristers 173

Astana Financial Centre Court, Kazakhstan 145

Attorney-General 162, 167, 168

B

Babylon 29, 35

badge 43

Balcombe, Alfred 118

Balcombe, John 118

Balfour, Arthur 85

Balkans 31

Bar Council 86, 127

Barfield, William 174

Bar Ilan University 127

Barlow Clowes International 139

Barrow, Eliza 95

Bartfield, William 154

Belisha beacons 161

Beloff, Michael 151

Ben Israel, Rabbi Menasseh 62, 69

Benjamin, Judah 77

Bennathan, Joel 160

...

Table of contents

• Copyright and publication details
• Publisher’s note
• Acknowledgements
• About the author
• Dedication
• Introduction
• The Attraction of the Law
• Oaths and Vows
• Early Days in England
• The Laws of England Concerning Jews
• Conversion and Return
• ‘We May Give You the Laws, But … ’
• The First Jewish Lawyers
• Bar and Bench
• Into the Twentieth Century
• Judicial Appointments High and Low
• Jewish Lawyers in Politics
• The Doors Were Open to All
• Some Notable Jewish Solicitors
• Epilogue
• Selected Bibliography
• Index