The League of British Jews was an

Anglo-Jewish British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...

anti-Zionist organization that opposed the Balfour Declaration giving British support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The League was founded in November 1917 by a group of prominent British Jews that included

Lionel Nathan de Rothschild Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, OBE (25 January 1882 – 28 January 1942), also Major Lionel de Rothschild, was a British banker and Conservative politician best remembered as the creator of Exbury Gardens by the New Forest in Hampshire. He was ...

, Sir Philip Magnus and

Louis Montagu, 2nd Baron Swaythling Louis Samuel Montagu, 2nd Baron Swaythling (10 December 1869–11 June 1927) was a prominent member of the British Jewish community, a financier, and a political activist. He was the son and heir of Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling, and o ...

. Its first president was Rothschild, with Montagu and Magnus serving as vice presidents. The League had a small membership, only 18 in 1917, who were "recruited from the highly acculturated upper strata of British Jewry." Despite its small numbers, the League was highly influential. It folded in 1929. The League favored settlement in Palestine by British Jews who chose to live there, but opposed the belief that Jews constituted a separate nationality, the position then held by

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

. At the time it was founded, the objectives of the League were listed as upholding "the status of British Jews holding the Jewish religion," to "resist the allegation that Jews constitute a separate nationality," and "to facilitate the settlement in Palestine of such Jews as may desire to make Palestine their home." Membership was available to all at a cost of one shilling per year. The views of the League were reflected in a newspaper founded in October 1919, the ''Jewish Guardian'', edited by

Laurie Magnus Laurie Magnus (5 August 1872 – 28 April 1933) was an English author, journalist, and publisher. Biography Magnus was born in London to Jewish parents Katie and Sir Philip Magnus. He was educated at St Paul's School, and graduated with a Mas ...

. Its aim was to provide an alternative to the pro-Zionist ''Jewish Chronicle'' and ''Jewish World''.

References

{{Reflist Jewish organisations based in the United Kingdom Jewish anti-Zionism in the United Kingdom Jewish anti-Zionist organizations Jewish organizations established in the 1910s

See also

References