An Unorthodox History

British Jews Since 1945

Gavin Schaffer

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Manchester University Press
18 February 2025

British & Irish history; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; Jewish studies

A bold, new history of British Jewish life since the Second World War.

Historian Gavin Schaffer wrestles Jewish history away from the question of what others have thought about Jews, focusing instead on the experiences of Jewish people themselves.

Exploring the complexities of inclusion and exclusion, he shines a light on groups that have been marginalised within Jewish history and culture, such as queer Jews, Jews married to non-Jews, Israel-critical Jews and even Messianic Jews, while offering a fresh look at Jewish activism, Jewish religiosity and Zionism.

Weaving these stories together, Schaffer argues that there are good reasons to consider Jewish Britons as a unitary whole, even as debates rage about who is entitled to call themselves a Jew. Challenging the idea that British Jewish life is in terminal decline, An unorthodox history demonstrates that Jewish Britain is thriving and that Jewishness is deeply embedded in the country's history and culture.

By: Gavin Schaffer
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 512g
ISBN: 9781526165473
ISBN 10: 1526165473
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 18 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Gavin Schaffer is Professor of Modern British History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is the author of numerous books and articles on race, ethnicity and immigrant histories and regularly contributes to television and radio.

Reviews for An Unorthodox History: British Jews Since 1945

'A brave and important book that presents post-war British Jewry in a new light. Taking the attention away from the centre, Gavin Scahffer presents the vibrant, rooted but diverse nature of Britain’s oldest minority with a generosity of spirit, revealing a dynamism rarely acknowledged.' Tony Kushner, author of Anglo-Jewry since 1066 'Gavin Schaffer has written a lucid and readable account of an “unorthodox” British-Jewish community made up of disparate groups of Jewish people who are queer, non-Zionist, converts to Judaism and Christianity and émigrés to Israel. In doing so he has radically changed our perspective of a so-called model minority.' Bryan Cheyette, author of The Ghetto: A Very Short Introduction 'Gavin Shaffer’s excellent new book demonstrates that the most insightful way to tell the story of a community is from its margins. In doing so he illuminates the vibrant debates about belief, politics and national identity that have reshaped what it means to be a Jew in postwar Britain.' Nadia Valman, Professor of Urban Literature, Queen Mary University of London -- .