Judaism

The Jewish Relief Act, 1858

Robert Woodall describes how twenty-nine years of public controversy preceded the political emancipation of British Jews.

A Portuguese Palestine

Adam Rovner describes the little-known attempt to create a Zion in the Portuguese colony of Angola.

Algeria’s Jewish Question

The Jews of Algeria had lived side by side with Muslims for centuries, but the struggle for Algerian independence presented them with stark choices, as Martin Evans explains.

Jewish Brigade: Soldiers of Zion

Having fled Hitler’s Berlin, Oscar Westreich gained a new identity in Palestine. He eventually joined the British army, whose training of Jewish soldiers proved crucial to the formation of Israel, as his daughter, Mira Bar-Hillel, explains.

The Capture of Jerusalem

John France recounts the against-the-odds narrative of the capture of the Holy City by the forces of the First Crusade.

Past Precedents for Muslim and Jewish Peace

A solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine seems as far away as ever. But, says Martin Gilbert, past relations between Muslims and Jews have often been harmonious and can be so again.

Making of a Martyr: William of Norwich and the Jews

The murder of a 12-year-old boy in Norwich in 1144 inspired Thomas of Monmouth, a monk from the city's cathedral, to create an anti-semitic account of the incident. His influential work reveals much about life and belief in medieval England, argues Miri Rubin.

Spain’s Returning Jews

The last 150 years have seen a chequered but eventually triumphant reintegration of Jews into a society whose heritage they helped to mould, says C.C. Aronsfeld