James Parkes, the Jews, and Conversionism: A Model for Multi-Cultural Britain?

Abstract

British historians and others have been slow to recognize the tradition of immigration and ethnic, religious, and racial diversity that has marked the British experience in the modern era. The multi-cultural nature of British society today is harder to ignore, with black groups alone representing over 5 per cent of the total population. Yet the implications of such diversity both in the past and in the present have not been properly acknowledged by academics, politicians, or society as a whole. Coloured immigration, following that of the Jews from Eastern and Central Europe, has tended to be viewed only in problematic terms—such newcomers are seen to bring with them the potential for racial strife. Immigration control—from the turn of the century to the present day—has been consistently justified by politicians, commentators, and agitators on the grounds that it will improve race relations in this country. Of equal significance have been the limitations of those opposed to racism and the control of entry. Support of immigrants and minorities has been generally limited to attacks on racism. In the process, issues concerning pluralism and the need to accept diversity have been relatively ignored. Such tendencies within anti-racism reflect the domination of assimilationist assumptions with regard to minorities. This has been particularly the case with the left-liberal world which has been dominant in the campaign against racism in the twentieth century. It is thus not surprising that the Rushdie affair caused enormous shock in Britain amongst those who assumed that religion no longer mattered in this country. It was, in the words of Fay Weldon, ‘like a tidal wave’ removing what was left of liberal illusions concerning race relations.