After what has felt like a further intensification of 'bad for the Jews' news stories in the past few weeks, in was nice to be in a room of alike minds for a book launch at the Manchester Jewish Museum.
Gavin Schaffer feels like an important witness with just the right blend of responsibility and relatability to chronicle the recent history of the wider Jewish world in Britain. I've only read the first chunk of the book thus far, but I can already tell this is going to be a must-have for anyone trying to truly understand British Jewry.
It must be said, it's also very refreshing to read a Jewish history book with a particularly British sensibility. On these Isles we're inevitably exposed to a lot of American Jewish voices, and whilst we can recognise and relate to a lot of it there's also more than a little sense of disconnect about certain cultural touchstones, trends or testimonies. This book is a helpful reminder that our experience can be also be lucidly documented and disseminated.
