The Uses of Benevolence: Charity among Jewish Immigrants in Manchester, 1905–1930

Abstract

A central focus of research into nineteenth and twentieth century British-Jewish history has been relations between native and immigrant Jews and immigrant culture. The investigation of social relations among Jewish immigrants, however, still relies heavily on sources generated by the native Jewish elite and tends to be rather patchy. This article endeavours to provide an insight into everyday life within the immigrant milieu by shedding light on one particular welfare association, the Manchester Jews Benevolent Society, which was founded by Eastern European immigrants in British Jewry's second city in 1905. An analysis of the organisation's inception and activity until the 1930s tries to locate its place and function within a transforming provincial Jewish community. The society's history provides an insight into class differences within the immigrant milieu and demonstrates the efforts of a stratum of immigrants to preserve certain elements of their Jewish heritage while striving to improve their standing within their immediate social environment as well as Manchester's native Jewry.