Abstract
A particularly close relationship had been generally understood to exist between the Quaker and Jewish communities in Britain as a consequence of the relief work undertaken by Quakers in Germany during the Holocaust and through initiatives such as the Kindertransport. That closeness continued until around the end of the twentieth century. However, triggered by domestic debates over Israel/Palestine, it shifted from a positive to an at times antagonistic relationship. This paper argues that, whatever the proximate cause, current tensions actually arise from the ending of the super-equivalent treatment of Jews by Quakers, and a growing existential concern among the British Jewish communities about the return and rise of anti-Semitism. It concludes that the previous close relationship is unlikely to be re-established.
Keywords
anti-Semitism, Quakers in Britain, Israel/Palestine, Jews in Britain, Holocaust
How to Cite
Stoller, T., (2018) “The End of the Affair? Examining the Relationship between Quakers and Jews in Britain at the Start of the Twenty-first Century”, Quaker Studies 23(2), 239–254. doi: https://doi.org/10.3828/quaker.2018.23.2.6
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