350th Anniversary Culture Festival

Historic Background: Jews form an important ethnic and religious minority in Britain and their presence has been a significant element in the fabric of British life dating from their first arrival with William the Conqueror in 1066. At this time they acted as representatives of the King and performed special roles. In 1290 they were expelled by edict of Edward I. Now as we reach the year 2006 - the landmark of the 350 th Anniversary of the official acknowledgement by Oliver Cromwell of the presence, once more, of Jewish Communities in Britain , it is timely to celebrate Jewish Culture as part of Britain’s Cultural Diversity.

The Celebration: It will take the form of a year-long series of innovative, varied and high quality cultural events presented by individual members of JCUK under the umbrella idea of ‘Jews in Britain 2006 heritage presence future’. It starts with seminars on 11 and 12 December 2005 commemorating the historical conference where Oliver Cromwell met members of the Jewish community to discuss expressions of the Jewish faith and other Jewish activities, and will last until December 2006.
To see more about the anniversary see the special website:
 www.britishjews350.org.uk

What are the Aims? To:

• Highlight, celebrate and make Jewish culture of all kinds visible and exciting to people of all backgrounds
• Give Jewish Communities a sense of pride in their heritage and culture.
• Engage with other faiths and communities using cultural activities as a means to achieve greater friendship, understanding and tolerance.
• To examine ideas about multicultural Britain , and the Jewish community's place within it and relations with other minorities
• Celebrate a rich and varied history of British Jews and bring to light forgotten historical detail of Jews in Britain .
• Show that Jewish Culture is a diaspora culture and therefore crosses many boundaries sharing similar cultural expressions with other ethnic groups from round the world, many of whom have also settled in the UK
• Ensure that the future of Jewish Culture is secure and takes its place within multi-cultural Britain

Who is it for ? Everyone of all backgrounds is welcome to participate and take an interest in Jewish life in Britain . The events will reach out to other communities and faiths and demonstrate the similarities and shared heritage. They will look forward as well as back and seek to highlight Jewish tradition and modernity as part of Britain ’s exciting cultural diversity.

The celebration will embrace many art forms and include art exhibitions, music workshops and concerts, dance, film showings, literary events, symposia, discussions, seminars, play readings and performances, heritage tours and trails, publications and participative programmes including summer schools. It will include premieres of new musical, theatre and art works. These events will shine a light on Jewish heritage and culture for everyone – Jew and non-Jew alike.

Where will events take place ?
Events will take place in major concert halls, theatres and arts centres, as well as less formal local community venues such as schools, colleges and universities, churches, synagogues, and also in unusual places such as parks and gardens, museums and University campuses. Many events will take place in London and the Jewish community across the country will participate in local, regional and national events. There will be collaborations with Britain ’s mainstream cultural bodies and Institutes such as the V&A, The National Gallery, the Royal Society, as well as theatres and concert venues.

Categories of events :
Social history and heritage
Music
Visual Arts
Theatre
Literature
Film
Other events
Publications

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Calendar of events:

Sunday 11 December, 2 – 6pm
Why Did Cromwell Take Us Back?
Seminar: The first in an exciting series of events presented by The London Jewish Cultural Centre to mark 350 years of Jewish life in England. Explore the reasons for and consequences of The Whitehall Conference, which resulted in Cromwell’s decision to readmit Jews into England in 1656. Experts gathering in a Historians ‘Roundtable’ will be: Jonathan Israel, Professor of Dutch Histories and Institutions at the University of London; Dr Eliane Glaser, expert in Christianity and Judaism in the early modern period and University of Michigan lecturer, Professor Tod Endelman.
Author and playwright Julia Pascal and broadcasters Dennis Marks and Henry Kelly will reveal the news behind the news behind the conference, which resulted in the re-admittance of the Jewish people to England .
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre – a 350 Years Celebration event
LJCC, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk
£12 for ‘readmittance’ to each of 6 anniversary events or get a ‘350 passport’ at £55 saving £17!
020 8457 5000 Email: admin [at] ljcc.org.uk
Tube: Golders Green

Monday 12 December 2005 , 6.15 – 9.00pm /Tuesday 13 December 9.15am – 6.00pm 2005

Ketzeh ha-Aretz: Jews at the ‘End of the Earth’
International seminar preceded by the Valmadonna lecture at the University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT Celebrating 350 years since the Readmission of the Jews to England, 1655-2005
Monday 12th December 2005 6.15pm , Reception, Haldane Room
6.45pm , Gustave Tuck lecture theatre Emile Schrijver ( Amsterdam ): Menasseh ben Israel : not just another printer

Tuesday 13th December 2005, 9.15am – 6.00pm The Old Refectory University College London
Speakers: David Katz ( Tel Aviv University ); Todd Endelman ( University of Michigan ); Yosef Kaplan ( Hebrew University , Jerusalem ); Sharman Kadish (Jewish Heritage UK , Manchester ); Jonathan Israel (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton ) Emile Schrijver ( Amsterdam );
Presented by Institute of Jewish Studies with the Jewish Historical Society and the Kessler Foundation
Admission Free
Institute of Jewish Studies : tel. 020 7679 3520; fax 020 7209 1026
e-mail uclhvtm[at] ucl.ac.uk;
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew–jewish/ijs
Tube: Euston Square

Wednesday 21 December 2005, 7.30pm
Central in Song
Cantor Steven Leas with the Choir of Central Synagogue and the gentlemen of the Choir of London accompanied and introduced by Stephen Glass of Montreal
Choral music includes settings of psalms and prayers from Renaissance polyphony to modern arrangements by British synagogue composers Stephen Glass and others.
Wix Hall Central Synagogue, 36 Hallam Street W1
Presented by ‘Jewish Music Central’ (Central Synagogue and Jewish Music Institute)
£15 (concessions £10
Tube: Great Portland Street
www.jmi.org.uk

Tuesday 10 January – Sunday 19 March 2006
Embracing the Exotic: Jacob Epstein and Dora Gordine
This pioneering exhibition launches the 350 celebrations at the Ben Uri
In the fifth in their ongoing series 'The Whitechapel Boys', the Ben Uri considers the careers of two contrasting, British-based émigré sculptors – Jacob Epstein (1880-1957) and his lesser-known female contemporary, Dora Gordine (1898-1991). The exhibition examines how both figures responded to and were inspired by Tribal and Oceanic Art from non-western cultures in much of their work, to create an extraordinarily rich and sophisticated visual vocabulary, which resonates as much in today’s multi-cultural society as it did in Britain some 70 years ago.
Presented by the Ben Uri Gallery – The London Jewish Museum of Art
www.benuri.org.uk
Ben Uri Gallery, 108a Boundary Rd , St John's Wood, London NW8 ORH
T: 020 7604 3991 Email: info[at] benuri.org.uk
Tube: St John's Wood; Swiss Cottage; Maida Vale

Monday 23 January, 5.30 - 6.30pm
Readings from the Holocaust Trilogy by Julia Pascal. Marking Holocaust Memorial Day
Linked monologues from the plays.   The playwright will be discussing how she was motivated to write these plays and the effect it has had on her and her company, followed by discussion around this year's Holocaust Memorial Day theme  'One person can make a difference’. Julia Pascal has written many plays about the Holocaust and the Jewish experience.
Swiss Cottage Library
Information 020 7383 0920

Tuesday 24 January, 7.30pm
Howard Jacobson: Anglo-Jewish Art - A Contradiction in Terms?
Talk: A surprising, provocative, powerful and entertaining view of the Jews re-entry into English society.
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre – a 350 Years Celebration event
LJCC, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk
£12 for ‘readmittance’ to each of 6 anniversary events or get a ‘350 passport’ at £55 saving £17!
020 8457 5000 Email: admin [at] ljcc.org.uk
Tube: Golders Green

Wednesday 25 January, 7.00p, - 9.00pm
Tower Hamlets Holocaust Memorial Day Event
“One person CAN make a difference.” Renee Salt, a survivor of Belsen and the Lodz Ghetto will speak on her experience, and there will be a selection of readings and poems, a number from the works of acclaimed East End author and poet Emanuel Litvinoff read by Bernard Kops, interspersed with musical recitations from the acclaimed Solaris Quartet, and a multimedia presentation from local filmmaker Elliott Tucker. There will also be a candle-lighting ceremony and refereshments.
Jewish Care’s Stepney Community Centre, Beaumont Grove, E1 (nr tube Stepney Green)
To reserve a place please contact 020 7364 7907 or Email: festivalsandevents [at] towerhamlets.gov.uk

Thursday 26 January, 7.30pm - 9.45pm
‘I Wandered Through Theresienstadt …’
A film and concert celebrating human creativity in adversity for Holocaust Memorial Day. Maya Kasir soprano, Sagi Hartov cello, Marc Verter piano and special guests Sarah Aaronson accordion and Hilda Bronstein (Yiddish Song) and songs from Cantor Steven Leas of Central Synagogue focusing on the, poignantly creative life of those who were incarcerated in Terezin (Theresienstadt) the Czech ‘model’ Concentration Camp outside Prague before being moved on to extermination camps.
£15 concessions £12.50 
020 7580 1355 (Central Synagogue)
Wix Hall, Central Synagogue, 36 Hallam Street , London W1
Tube: Great Portland Street
Presented by Jewish Music Central - a collaboration between Central Synagogue and the Jewish Music Institute
part of the Jewish Music Central Autumn Spring Series 2005/6 celebrating Jewish songwriters .

Friday: 27 January, 1-2pm
The Undying Flame
Ballads and Songs of the Holocaust - an illustrated performance by Jerry Silverman guitarist and folk singer of New York sings a selection of lost songs of the Holocaust from his book ‘The Undying Flame’ - a major collection of 110 songs in 16 languages (from Spain to Russia; from Norway to Greece), many of which have never been available before. He will tell the story behind each of the songs, sing them first in their original language and in special English translations.
SOAS Holocaust Memorial Day event
Room G50 SOAS University of London , Thornhaugh Street , Russell Square , London WC1H 0XG
Tube: Russell Square or Euston Square

Sunday 29 and Monday 30 January, 7.30pm
At the End of the Earth
Rehearsed reading of Julia Pascal’s brand new play Cromwell and the Jews
commissioned by the London Jewish Cultural Centre and supported by the Arts Council, in celebration of the Jews’ return to England .
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre – a 350 Years Celebration event
LJCC, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk
£12 for ‘readmittance’ to each of 6 anniversary events or get a ‘350 passport’ at £55 saving £17!
020 8457 5000 Email: admin [at] ljcc.org.uk
Tube: Golders Green

Tuesday 31 January, 7.30pm
What’s the Story?
Talk: The history of Anglo-Jewry has been mostly polite and quietly triumphalist – a story of tolerance and assimilation… but how tolerant and welcoming was Britain ? With Times journalist David Aaronovitch and historians including Professor Tony Kushner.
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre – a 350 Years Celebration event
LJCC, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk
£12 for ‘readmittance’ to each of 6 anniversary events or get a ‘350 passport’ at £55 saving £17!
020 8457 5000 Email: admin [at] ljcc.org.uk
Tube: Golders Green

Tuesday 31 January to 14 May 2006
Passover – Journey to Freedom
Exhibition: designed especially for children and families, but will also enchant everyone. It explores the multiple meanings of Passover across the ages and across the globe, drawing on hands-on activities, music and outstanding examples of ceremonial art. The exhibition looks at the ways this key festival has been used by Jewish people to affirm their identity and values as a minority community, and how the Passover message of liberation from slavery has provided an inspiration for other cultures. (Look out below for talks and other events at the Jewish Museum associated with this exhibition)
Presented by The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jewishmuseum.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town
Monday – Thursday 10am – 4pm Sundays 10am – 5pm
Closed: 13 April & 19-20 April 2006.
Adults £3.50, Senior Citizens £2.50, Children/Students £1.50, Family ticket £8, Museum Friends free.

Friday 10 February, 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Talk: Jewish meets Baroque:
A Glimpse into the Musical Life of the Portuguese Jewish Community of Amsterdam in the 18th Century - the community related to those that first settled in the UK in 1656
Alexander Knapp Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music, SOAS, University of London
Part of Series: ‘Aspects of Jewish music in contemporary Britain ’ presented by the Jewish Music Institute Website www.jmi.org.uk with the Department of Music SOAS for the 350th anniversary. Fridays 1.00pm – 2.00pm from 10 February to 17 March 2006
Room G50 main building, SOAS University of London, Thornhaugh Street , Russell Square , London WC1H 0XG
Tubes: Russell Square or Euston Square

Sunday 19 February, 3 – 5pm
The Old East End , The New East End
Discussion: The East End has a special place in the historical experience of Anglo-Jewry and subsequent immigrant communities. We welcome writers from the old and new East End to discuss the influence of the East End on their works and lives; Bernard Kops, Rachel Lichtenstein, Sukdeh Sandhu, Sanchita Islam, Julia Pascal. Chaired by Dennis Marks
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre – a 350 Years Celebration event
LJCC, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk
£12 for ‘readmittance’ to each of 6 anniversary events or get a ‘350 passport’ at £55 saving £17!
020 8457 5000 Email: admin [at] ljcc.org.uk
Tube: Golders Green

Sunday 19 February, 3pm
Jewish Klezmer/Bulgarian Folk
Musical Performance: Denitsa Lasschieva Mora performs virtuoso music on the clarinet from a variety of folk traditions.
Admission £5 (Museum Friends and students £4)
Music at the Jewish Museum presented in association with the Cultural Department of the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish Music Institute www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jmus.org.uk
Tube Camden Town

Tuesday 21 February, 7.30pm
Jews and Others: Multiculturalism Today
Discussion: Our speakers will review the issues of tolerance in modern British society and the limits, successes and failures of multiculturalism. Some believe that the Jews are regarded as the oldest and most successful immigrant group. Does this help Jews in England today? Panellists include Melanie Phillips and Ziauddin Sardar. Chaired by producer and journalist David Herman.
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre – a 350 Years Celebration event
LJCC, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk
£12 for ‘readmittance’ to each of 6 anniversary events or get a ‘350 passport’ at £55 saving £17!
020 8457 5000
Tube: Golders Green

Sunday 26 February, 2pm
Marvellous Masks for Purim
Are you beautiful Queen Esther, wise Mordechai or wicked Haman? Or is there another character that you long to become? Find out as we tell the Purim story together, and use masks to create our own characters.
Jewish Museum family event for children age 7 and over
Admission £5 per child
Presented by The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB )
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jewishmuseum.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Saturday 25 February – Sunday 5 March
Jewish Book Week 2006
The world’s leading Festival of Jewish writing and ideas, With over 50 sessions and contributors from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Hungary, Israel, South Africa and the USA, this year’s programme is packed with variety and encompasses both old friends and new voices. Two Themes interwoven thus year are The Ten Commandments and Family Relationships, exploring influences moral, ethical and intimate on lives and literary works. Presented by The Jewish Book Council,
Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way , WC1 0DG For more details www.jewishbookweek.com

Sunday 26 February, 5 – 6.30pm
Living Photographs
Family history workshop: Spoken-word poet Leah Thorn will facilitate a workshop in which families from across the Jewish community are invited to bring in a photograph from their family album which will elicit a joint poem. Each family member will be encouraged to explore his or her connection with the past and create a lyrical ‘Living Photograph’.
Presented by Jewish Book Week and the Jewish Community Centre for London
Stanley Room, Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way , London WC1 0DG
Tube: Russell Square

Tuesday 28 February, 7pm
Passover in Twentieth Century Art
In an illustrated talk, Julia Weiner, freelance curator and art critic, looks at the ways in which contemporary artists have portrayed the traditions of the Passover festival.
£5 (Museum Friends and students £4) including admission to the exhibition Passover: Journey to Freedom and Museum galleries one hour before the event. Advanced booking recommended for all events.
Presented by the Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jmus.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Tuesday 7 March, 7pm
Chinese Jews: their Story and their Music
Alexander Knapp, Joe Loss Fellow in Jewish Music at SOAS, describes the history of the ethnic Jews of China and presents some of their music.
Admission £5 (Museum Friends and students £4)
Music at the Jewish Museum presented in association with the Cultural Department of the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish Music Institute www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jmus.org.uk
Tube Camden Town

Thursday 9 March -- Tuesday 18 April
Jewish Artists in Britain - works from the Ben Uri Museum Collection
This exhibition is the first full scale showing from the acclaimed collection since 2001and traces the social and artistic history of Jewish artists since the age of the emancipation from around 1860 and their contribution to British art movements and history. Important examples include works by Solomon Hart, Simeon Solomon, Solomon J Solomon, David Bomberg, Jacob Kramer, Bernard Meninsky, Alfred Wolmark, representing the early years through to the contemporary period including Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Julie Held, Raphael Pepper and Carole Berman.
An extensive series of Education programmes are planned to accompany this exhibition www.benuri.org.uk
Presented by the Ben Uri Gallery in partnership with London Jewish Cultural Centre
Artsdepot 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, London N12 0GA
020 8369 5454 www.artsdepot.co.uk
Tube: West Finchley, Woodside Park . Finchley Central

Friday 17 March 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Talk: Jewish meets Christian: The Significance of Meier Leon 's ‘Yigdal’ Melody as a link between Jewish and Christian Hymnody in 18th-century London.
Alexander Knapp Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music, SOAS, University of London
Part of Series: ‘Aspects of Jewish music in contemporary Britain ’ presented by the Jewish Music Institute Website www.jmi.org.uk with the Department of Music SOAS for the 350th anniversary. Fridays 1.00pm – 2.00pm from 10 February to 17 March 2006
Room G50 main building, SOAS University of London, Thornhaugh Street , Russell Square , London WC1H 0XG
Tubes: Russell Square or Euston Square

Sunday 19 March, 2pm
Elijah’s Cup
The legend of Elijah embodies the Passover message of hope. In this workshop we will use paints, beading and metallic leaf to decorate a cup that will be a stunning centrepiece for your Seder table.
For young people age 10-14
Admission £5 per child
Presented by The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB )
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jewishmuseum.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Sunday 19 March, 7.30pm
The Sephardic Songbook
Performance: Singers from France and Spain introduce music of the Jews of the Sephardic tradition who entered Britain 350 years ago and launch the Sephardic Song Book.
Presented by ‘Jewish Music Central’ (central synagogue and Jewish Music Institute) in association with the Sephardi Centre.
Central Synagogue 36 Hallam Street W1
£15 (concessions £10)
Tube: Great Portland Street

Wednesday 22 March, 7pm
Songs of Liberation
Talk: Dr Anthony Reddie, Research Fellow in Black Theological Studies at the Queens Foundation, Birmingham , considers how the Exodus story became a paradigm for social and political transformation.
£5 (Museum Friends and students £4) including admission to the exhibition Passover: Journey to Freedom and Museum galleries one hour before the event. Advanced booking recommended for all events.
Presented by the Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jmus.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 March
‘Jewish Artists of the East End ’ a seminar at the Whitechapel Library and free walks around the Jewish East End
Presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS) www.jeecs.org.uk
£25 (including lunch) 07941-367-882 Email: c.bettington [at] jeecs.org.uk
Tube: Aldgate East

Sunday 26 March, 3pm
Trio Meitar
A trio of players, including cello and violin, from the renowned Ensemble Meitar, present a programme of contemporary Israeli music.
Admission £5 (Museum Friends and students £4)
Music at the Jewish Museum presented in association with the Cultural Department of the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish Music Institute www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin [at] jmus.org.uk
Tube Camden Town

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April – November
Jewish Music and the Music of Diasporas
This series of 6 concerts in the East Midlands , explores the diverse and rarely performed music and culture of minority groups who at some time have or still are experiencing persecution and victimisation, including music from the Jewish, Rwandan and Darfurian experience. Three of the concerts will be preceded by afternoon workshops for schools
Presented by Beth Shalom Holocaust Education Centre in partnership with local councils and the local Jewish Community www.bethshalom.com

From April
Jewish History in Britain
To mark the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in Britain , the Jewish Museum is launching a new audio-visual programme on Jewish history in Britain , narrated by actress Maureen Lipman. The programme will be available to view as an interactive display in the Museum galleries, together with a Timeline and Who's Who in Anglo Jewry, and special showings will be arranged for group visits. Another special feature in the Museum's History Gallery will be a focused display on the Readmission of Jews to Britain under Oliver Cromwell, running from 2 April to 29 October 2006 .
Presented by The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street, London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin[at] jewishmuseum.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Sunday 2 April, 10.00am
Isaac Rosenberg Seminar
A day-long seminar looking at the life of the greatest poet to emerge from the Anglo- Jewish community. Speakers will include all 3 of his major biographers, who will be looking at his life and literary works. Julia Weiner will discuss Rosenberg as a painter.
10a.m. Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street London E1 6LS 3259
Presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS) www.jeecs.org.uk
£25 (including lunch) 07941-367-882 Email: c.bettington[at] jeecs.org.uk
Tube: Aldgate East

Sunday 2 April, 11am and 2pm
The Miracles of Moses
A brand new puppet show from Pomegranate Puppets! Join puppeteer Trisha Brummer and a host of colourful characters as Moses leads his people on an epic journey from slavery to freedom.
For children age 5 and over and their families.
Admission £6 per person
Presented by The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB )
020 7284 1997 Email: admin[at] jewishmuseum.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Tuesday 25 April, 7pm
The Exodus from Egypt – the archaeological evidence
Talk: “What mean these stones?” Joshua, Chapter 4,21. The textual and archaeological evidence for the Exodus from Egypt is examined by Dr Siam Bhayro, Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London.
£5 (Museum Friends and students £4) including admission to the exhibition Passover: Journey to Freedom and Museum galleries one hour before the event. Advanced booking recommended for all events.
Presented by the Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
020 7284 1997 Email: admin[at] jmus.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Sunday, April 30, 7.30pm
TS Ensemble
A celebration of encounters between cultures in Jazz inspired by folk music (with performance of Tsivi Sharett's original jazz compositions). classical, popular and jazz musician, Tsivi has worked extensively in opera, including at Covent Garden with Russian singer Kyra Vayne, and in theatre as well as performing with the National Jazz Orchestra at Ronnie Scott’s. Her TS Ensemble has performed widely including at The South Bank and The Jazz Café. Radio broadcasts include Charlie Gillett's BBC World Service and London Live.
‘Sunday Sounds at the Shaw’, Patron Dame Fanny Waterman
Shaw Theatre, 100-110 Euston Road NW1
Presented by The Shaw Theatre and Sagi Hartov In association with LJCC and JMI
£15, concessions £10
0870 033 2600

Wednesday 17 May – Sunday 18 June
Up North!
This exhibition showcases the artists and artistic developments emanating from north of Watford who all too often were - and even today are - neglected within the hyper active scene of London . The Ben Uri Gallery takes the visitor on a whirlwind tour of Scotland , Leeds , Manchester , Liverpoool, Birmingham looking at artists who built and are currently building their reputations outside London - Up North! Artists include Josef Herman, Jankel Adler, Benno Schotz, Hannah Frank, Alma Wolfson, Georgia Wolfson, Emmanuel Levy, David Huglin, Jacob Kramer, Lynne Coates, Anthony Padgett, Gillian Singer, Bernard Meninsky, Marcus Levy, Jessica Oxide and many more. An extensive Educational programme accompanies this exhibition
Presented by the Ben Uri Gallery – The London Jewish Museum of Art www.benuri.org.uk
Ben Uri Gallery, 108a Boundary Rd , St John's Wood, London NW8 ORH
T: 020 7604 3991 info[at] benuri.org.uk
Tube: St John's Wood; Swiss Cottage; Maida Vale

Sunday 21 May, 11am and 3pm
Science and Magic - A Journey to the Land of the Pharaohs
In a one hour family programme, magician Tony Drewitt and physicist Dr Sharon Ann Holgate take us back in time to Ancient Egypt and revealing some of the science and illusions familiar to the people who built the pyramids.
Admission £6 per person
Presented by The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB )
020 7284 1997 Email: admin[at] jewishmuseum.org.uk
Tube: Camden Town

Sunday 21 May, 7.30pm
Countertenor Arnon Zlotnick and The Gaudicantus Ensemble
Recorder and baroque bassoon, Doret Florentin, baroque cellist,
Rebecca Rosen, harpsichordist, Aviad Stier.
Internationally acclaimed singer-dancer Zlotnik on a rare visit to the UK in Baroque music of 18th Century Europe , including Vivaldi, Handel and Salamone Rossi Hebreo (1601-1656).
‘Sunday Sounds at the Shaw’, Patron Dame Fanny Waterman
Shaw Theatre, 100-110 Euston Road NW1
Presented by The Shaw Theatre and Sagi Hartov In association with LJCC and JMI
£15, concessions £10
0870 033 2600

Sunday 28 and Monday 29 May
Jewish Cemeteries of the East End
A two-day seminar on the five cemeteries of the Jewish East End of London. Talks by leading authorities on Jewish burial and death rituals. Includes tours of the cemeteries. Working parties will be set up to discuss how to maintain the cemeteries and how best to arrange public access to them.
Stepney Jewish Community Centre, 2-8 Beaumont Grove, London E14 4NQ
Presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS) www.jeecs.org.uk
£75 for both days (£65 concessions) £40 for 1 day only.
07941-367-882 Email: c.bettington[at] jeecs.org.uk
Tube: Stepney Green

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June to October

Contemporary JewishIdentities
A specially created multi-media installation using the elements of filmed interviews and photographs, illustrating in an art form, contemporary Jewish identities. The exhibition will reveal the diversity of roots and experience among Jewish people in Britain today reflecting different ways of being Jewish in Britain today and their multi-faceted identities. It is proposed to include interviews with both well-known figures and other individuals of varied backgrounds and occupations, as one of the oldest minority immigrant communities and a significant part of Britain ’s wider cultural diversity.
Presented by the Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
Jewish Museum, Camden Town , Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street , London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin[at] jmus.org.uk
Tube Camden Town

Sunday 25 – Tuesday 27 June
British Youth Sings Jewish2006
For the anniversary year JMI will be creating a national network of youth choirs singing Jewish repertoire work-shopping with the world renowned conductor, arranger Stephen Glass of Montreal . Touring in London and the north west of England and culminating in a massed Youth Choir Concert at St John's , Smith Square on 27 June 2006 and participating in the national youth choir Festival in Britain .
Presented by the Jewish Music Institute www.jmi.org.uk

Sunday 25 June – Sunday 6 August
Dora Holzhandler Retrospective
This exhibition traces the totally individual style employed by Dora consistently during her long and acclaimed career. Born 1928 in Paris of Polish parentage the family moved to Britain in 1934. She returned to Paris to study at the Sorbonne before returning to the Anglo French Art Centre in London . Her vision of a good pure past world has endured the test of time and her work enjoys international recognition. Now near 80 Dora continues to work feverishly and this is a long overdue tribute to her dedication to her own unique practice un-swerved by the different art movements that came in and out of fashion during these past 60 years.
Presented by the Ben Uri Gallery – The London Jewish Museum of Art www.benuri.org.uk
Ben Uri Gallery, 108a Boundary Rd , St John's Wood, London NW8 ORH
T: 020 7604 3991 info[at] benuri.org.uk
Tube: St John's Wood; Swiss Cottage; Maida Vale

Sunday 6 – Friday 11 August 2006
Ot Azoy! Yiddish Crash Course
One Week Summer School for beginners to advanced students.
Learn Yiddish quickly and easily in a warm friendly atmosphere with Peysakh Fiszman New York , Sonia Dratwa-Pinkusowitz Brussels , Lily Kahn and Helen (Khayele) Beer UCL (daily 9.15am – 6.30pm )
JMI SOAS Jewish music Summer Schools take place at West London Synagogue, 33 Seymour Place , London , W1
Part of the World Music Summer School, SOAS, University of London www.soas.ac.uk/summermusic
And the European Academy of Klezmer and Yiddish http://www.yiddish-klezmer.net/
Course details and registration
JMI SOAS 020 8909 2445 Email: jewishmusic[at] jmi.org.uk
Register online: www.jmi.org.uk 

Sunday 13 August 2006, 12.00noon– 6.00pm
KlezFest in the Park
Enjoy a feast of British and international klezmer with bands from across the world at the bandstand Regent's Park . Bring an instrument and join the biggest UK Klezmer band and prepare to dance and picnic in the park.

Sunday 13— Friday 18 August 2006
KlezFest London
Six day Summer School of intensive, inspirational singing, dancing and instrumental workshops and masterclasses with luminaries of the Klezmer world, led by Frank London with Joshua Horowitz, Cookie Segelstein, Stuart Brotman, Deborah Strauss, Jeff Warschauer, Merlin and Polina Shepherd, Sanne Möricke, Christian Dawid and others. Special strand for professional Klezmer players (daily 9.15am – 11.00pm)

Includes Free KlezFest in the Park, at the bandstand Regent's Park Sunday 13 August and Klezmer Klimax! - The Ultimate Klezmer Concert, Wednesday 16 August 8.00pm featuring new band Veretski Pass and klezmer legends as above. 020 8909 2445 www.jmi.org.uk for details
Learn to play and sing Jewish music at JMI SOAS Jewish music Summer Schools
West London Synagogue, 33 Seymour Place , London , W1
Part of the World Music Summer School, SOAS, University of London www.soas.ac.uk/summermusic
And the European Academy of Klezmer and Yiddish http://www.yiddish-klezmer.net/
Course details and registration
JMI SOAS 020 8909 2445 Email: jewishmusic[at] jmi.org.uk
Register online: www.jmi.org.uk

Sunday 13— Friday 18 August 2006
Jewish Song Summer School
Six day Summer School exploring the repertoire, interpretation, style and pronunciation of Jewish songs in Yiddish and Ladino in workshops and masterclasses for professional and amateur singers. Directed by Shura Lipovsky of Amsterdam with Jacinta, Polina Shepherd, Judith Silver and others. Runs parallel with KlezFest (daily 9.15am – 11.00pm )
Learn to play and sing Jewish music
JMI SOAS Jewish music Summer Schools take place at West London Synagogue, 33 Seymour Place , London , W1
Part of the World Music Summer School, SOAS, University of London www.soas.ac.uk/summermusic
And the European Academy of Klezmer and Yiddish http://www.yiddish-klezmer.net/
Course details and registration
JMI SOAS 020 8909 2445 Email: jewishmusic[at] jmi.org.uk
Register online: www.jmi.org.uk

Wednesday 16 August 2006, 8.00pm
Klezmer Klimax! - The Ultimate Klezmer Concert featuring new band Veretski Pass and klezmer legends
£20, £15 020 8909 2445 part of KlezFest London 2006. www.jmi.org.uk for details
Autumn 2006 various dates
J-Roots: Jewish Musical creativity for young musicians
To develop a sense of identity of being Jewish in Britain in 2006, JMI is instigating a series of workshops in music and lyric composition on Jewish themes and identity culminating in concerts of original music inspired by Jewish themes aimed at a younger audience
Presented by the Jewish Music Institute www.jmi.org.uk

Sunday 10 September – Sunday 26 November
Love Revealed, Simeon Solomon and the Pre -Raphaelites
For the first time in a century this exhibition traces the daring but tragic life of Simeon Solomon [1840 - 1905] and examines his place within the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Homosexuality was illegal and scandalous in Victorian times and no less in the Jewish community of the era. Following the publicity of his arrest Solomon's career was effectively destroyed in 1873 and his fall from high reputation to the work houses of the East End of London is well documented. However he continued to produce powerful and evocative drawings and watercolours and his work leaves a wonderful and glorious legacy. This exhibition demonstrates his genius as the critics of the day regularly hailed him alongside the work of his peers including Rossetti, Burne-Jones and other great artists from the Pre Raphaelite movement. the Ben Uri Gallery is justly proud of being selected to be the London host of this exhibition from Munich .
Presented by the Ben Uri Gallery – The London Jewish Museum of Art www.benuri.org.uk
Ben Uri Gallery, 108a Boundary Rd , St John's Wood, London NW8 ORH
Tel; 020 7604 3991 Email: info[at] benuri.org.uk
Tube: St John's Wood; Swiss Cottage; Maida Vale

Friday 1 September 2006
Small displayat the British Library marking the 350th anniversary will feature documents and books related to the Jewish presence in Britain over the centuries, including the pre-expulsion Period. We're trying to secure a lecturer too, and would provide more details in due course. Ilana Tahan Hebraica Curator The British Library, APAC - Hebrew section

Sunday 3 – Sunday 10 September
JEECS will arrange events in all 4 remaining synagogues in the East End of London and lead walks in the Jewish East End. See the JEECS website for details.
Presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS) www.jeecs.org.uk

Sunday 17 September 1- 7.00pm
Celebration of 350 years of British Jewry
Music, dance, spirituality, family activities and food
Trafalgar Square
Presented by the Greater London Authority in collaboration with JCUK
Free event

Wednesday 4 October, 4.30 walk, 7.00pm Seminar
Battle of Cable Street 70th Commemoration
This seminar will look at one of the most defining political events in the East End of London when Sir Oswald Mosley tried to invade. Speakers will include Sir Nicholas Mosley who will speak about the career of his father, a documentary about the battle will be shown and Prof. David Cesarani will speak on the myths of the battle
4.30pm Clive Bettington will lead a guided tour of the Battle of Cable Street
Meet at Tower Hill Tube.
7pm Seminar starts Toynbee Hall 28 Commercial Street London E1 6LS . Presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS) www.jeecs.org.uk
£6 (£5 concessions) for walk .£12 (£10 concessions) for seminar.
07941-367-882 Email:c.bettington[at] jeecs.org.uk
Tube: Tower Hill and Aldgate East .

Sunday 15 October – Tuesday 31 October
UK Jewish Film Festival 2006  
The UK Jewish Film Festival originated in Brighton in 1997 and is now a national festival screening films with Jewish themes including international features, documentaries and short films. Since 2004 the main festival has been held in London , at The Screen on the Hill - the celebrated home of Jewish film in London . The festival is held in October and then tours until mid December visiting about 30 venues across the UK . The festival invites filmmakers and speakers to discuss themes relevant to Jewish cultures worldwide. The UK JFF offers Holocaust Education events free to schools and colleges. Specific films and events are selected under the special theme of ‘Seeds of Reconciliation’ to promote dialogue and discussion on the Middle East to school groups and also for public screenings.
www.ukjewishfilmfestival.org.uk

Monday 16 October
The Gift of Music
A celebration concert highlighting the contribution of Jews to music.
The Round House, Camden Town
Presented by the Jewish Music Institute www.jmi.org.uk

Sunday 22 October
Alma Cogan party to commemorate the 40 th anniversary of her death.
Presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society (JEECS) www.jeecs.org.uk
£25 (including lunch) 07941-367-882 Email: c.bettington[at] jeecs.org.uk
Tube: Aldgate East

Tuesday 28 November 2006
Talk: ‘Jews and Science’ (working title) by Sir Martin Gilbert
Chairman, Sir Aaron Klug, OM. Sir Martin Gilbert will discuss how, why and when Jews in Britain entered the scientific arena and the contribution they have made to scientific thought and achievement over the last 350 years. Chaired by Sir Aaron Klug, Nobel Laureate and Former President of The Royal Society.
The Royal Society, 6 - 9 Carlton House Terrace, London , SW1Y 5AG
www.jewishculture.org.ukinfo[at] jewishculture.org.uk

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Theatre projects : by various groups
(no fixed dates yet consult the websites)

Monday to Friday 23 – 27 January, 10.30am - 5pm workshops
Sunday 29 Januar,y 7.00pm Public reading
Monday 30 January, 7pm Public reading
Autumn: fully staged performance
At the End of the Earth : a new play by Julia Pascal
Commissioned by the London Jewish Cultural Centre
Director Pamela Howard
This play will be an important addition to British and European theatre and, more importantly, will reveal a little-known area of English history: the return of the Jews to this island. It will explore the themes behind Cromwell’s regicide, Puritan values, the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism rampaging through Europe in the sixteenth century and will also show the importance of the Jewish presence in English history.
Present and past run concurrently. The first scene takes place in the old Jewish Cemetery in Mile End, where a neo Nazi is digging up a Jewish grave. The play encompasses several movements of the time such as the Diggers, the Levellers, and the Quakers. This story unites English Protestantism with Jewish History by examining both in the same crucible. England in 1656 had just killed a King, and is in the middle of heated debates on Republicanism, Messianism, Hebrew study and the return and conversion of the Jews. Menasseh ben Israel gets no definitive answer from Cromwell, and returns in depression to Holland with the dead body of his son who cannot be buried in England . Menasseh dies a disappointed and bankrupt man, without realising the success of his mission. The play will be published by Oberon Books and will live on as a text to be performed by students and other theatre companies. Pamela Howard will direct and design and Mike Kustow is the producer.
Presented by the London Jewish Cultural Centre
London Jewish Cultural Centre, Ivy House 94-96 North End Road NW11 7HU www.ljcc.org.uk 020 8457 5000 Email: admin[at] ljcc.org.uk
Tube: Golders Green

Seeing the Light Jane Liddell-King
This play will be based on research of the relationship between Protestant and Jews at the time of the Readmission of Jews to Britain and focuses on the difficulties of settlement of a minority in a host country. It will include Sephardic music and projections of Rembrandt paintings. It will have some humour – portraying a light-hearted view of Cromwell. It explores that critical but controversial mid seventeenth century moment. Set in Amsterdam and London the play has as its themes: race and religion (the Messianic Age and the Millennial Era) persecution and exile, immigration and national security, the market and the place of safety. To illustrate the relevance of these themes, videoed sequences will be projected of asylum seekers as well as stories taken locally in Cambridge and also reproductions of Rembrandt’s paintings - notably the etchings that illustrate Menasseh’s ‘Piedra Gloriosa’ (1655) an enterprise marking the first published collaboration between a Protestant and a Jew. Sephardi music will play a prominent role. The main characters are Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel , Rembrandt and Oliver Cromwell. (That Cromwell's head is buried in Sidney Sussex College , Cambridge makes it particularly apt to have the play staged there initially!)
ADC Theatre, Cambridge and New End Theatre, London : 2006 (With a small cast, minimal set apart from video and music it will therefore be easily transported. It is ideal for a student cast).

1656 : a one-hour words and music performance piece by Michelene Wandor presenting a picture of the richness of the lives of Jews already living in London before 1656. They were musicians, doctors, writer and painters, and the piece would move from their clandestine presence, to a 'coming out' along with the new Jewish citizens. It would be written in chronicle/poetic/dramatic style, and would use the music of John Hingeston, Cromwell's private house musician. It would demonstrate that Cromwell, far from being the austere anti-art puritan of popular legend, was a patron of musicians, writers and painters, and that part of the reason why he welcomed Jews was because they would add to the rich and vibrant culture of London. The music is for 3 viols, and a singer.
Michelene Wandor, text and viola da gamba, Jennie Cassidy: Mezzo, Two viol players.
(The most suitable venue for this would be a medium sized space, and it could be a curtain raiser or a lunchtime, or a late-night event).
For details: contact Michelene Wandor Email:mwandor[at] compuserve.com or see www.mwandor.co.uk

Goys and Gals - A new play by Penelope Solomon
Jeremy an Orthodox Jew, is a BBC producer who lives in West Hampstead and is looking for a Jewish wife. Sophie a secular Jew who lives in Hackney, is a teacher by day, comedienne by night and single… day and night. She’s never been out with a Jewish guy before. They meet. They fall in love. It all goes horribly wrong.
The play focuses on identity, preservation of Jewish Heritage and assimilation versus distinctiveness. It explores the multi-cultural question of belonging and should be of interest to all other cultures. It is hoped that a national tour will follow the premiere in London in 2006. (Penelope has already secured Arts Council funding for the development stage of this project). Supported by Spiro Ark as part of their new playwriting season. Produced by Laffa Jaffa Productions www.spiroark.org

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Jewish Dance days - From the Bible to Britain : Jewish Dance for everyone is a series of workshops for primary and secondary age children in both Jewish and non-Jewish schools introducing Jewish dance followed by an open concert for performing troupes. Suggested locations - London & Manchester this project will be launched via national media such as the Times Educational Supplement and other education led media. We also have links to Glasgow , Manchester , Leeds and Liverpool Jewish schools which could host activities nation-wide.

‘1943’ A Yiddish music-theatre-multi-media ‘collage’
The piece draws from significant Yiddish -related political and cultural events in London 1943 within the context of London 1943. Presented byHelen Beer, Lecturer in Yiddish, UCL (Dept. Hebrew and Jewish Studies), Gower St., London, WC1E 6BT in association with the International Forum for Yiddish Culture Mid-December, 2006 Bloomsbury Theatre.

Until the 50s and later, there was a significant Yiddish cultural life in London . Most history books of British Jewry make almost no mention of this, mainly because few historians have access to Yiddish language material. As a diaspora culture that inhabited London ’s East End and was then replaced there by other immigrant groups, there is much to be learned both about Yiddish-Jewish life in 1943 and its links with other cultures and with the host English culture.

At the height of World War 2, major Yiddish figures expressed themselves politically and culturally. Arthur Zygelboym committed suicide in protest against the scale of Jewish destruction in Europe . Mikhoels, one of the greatest Yiddish actors/directors came to London from the Soviet Union with the Yiddish poet Itsik Feffer to gain support for the Anti-Fascist committee. Writers wrote fierce Yiddish verse, much was written in the Yiddish paper ‘Di Tsayt’. Harendorf’s Yiddish play ‘The King of Lampedusa’ played to packed houses in the East End . The theatre collage would seek to present some of this material alongside film and audio footage of the time and set within the context of what was taking place in English society at large during 1943. Material would be presented in Yiddish and in English. Through this production an unknown part of Jewish culture would be accessible to all, with huge relevance to the issues facing immigrant populations of our times. The performance would be a portrait of multi-culturalism in 1943.

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Publications

Jewish Quarterly The JQ will publish articles looking at British Jewish culture over the last 350 years

Jewish Renaissance the British Jewish culture magazine, will include articles relating to the 350 th anniversary in the January and October issues. In the January issue is a major feature on one of the oldest but little known communities, The Jews of the West of England as well as articles on the Readmission by Cromwell and its real significance. The issues will also contain special features related to the commemorative festival events, delving into the socio-historic and artistic aspects of selected events in each of the two issues of Jewish Renaissance published in 2006
Jewish Renaissance, invites young people between the ages of 8 and 18 to enter a poetry and an art competition with the theme ‘Being Jewish in Britain 2006’. Details will be in our January and April editions and at:  www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk. Shortlisted entries will be displayed and poems read at a public celebration of 350 years of Jewish presence in Britain . Winning entries will be published in the October Issue. www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk.

The Jewish Museum, London – Treasures of Jewish Heritage
Publication of a major new catalogue with highlights from the collections of the Jewish Museum, in association with Scala Books, to coincide with the 350 th anniversary of Jewish readmission to Britain . The Museum’s Judaica collections have been awarded Designated status by the Museums Libraries & Archives Council in recognition of their outstanding national importance, and are among the finest in the world.
Publication date: March 2006
Details from The Jewish Museum www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
The Jewish Museum, Camden Town, Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street, London NW1 7NB
020 7284 1997 Email: admin[at] jewishmuseum.org.uk

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