Author Description

Presents reactions of the Jewish community in Leeds first to lingering local antisemitism, then to the rise of international fascism. For most of this period, well-to-do community members tended to turn a blind eye to social antisemitism. Active opposition, including street fights against Mosley's Blackshirts, was undertaken by members of the working class and youths. Broader communal responses emerged from the popular communist and Zionist movements, especially the latter. Strong local community leadership included factory owner Sir Montague Burton, Professor Selig Brodetsky, and Alderman Hyman Morris. The Jewish community united to oppose antisemitism in England, but the most significant unifying factor was the crisis European Jewry was undergoing as Hitler's regime increased its persecution. The Jews of Leeds mobilized in an impressive way to aid Jewish refugees from Germany.