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LATEST NEWS, contact
c.bettington@jeecs.org.uk
Check out our latest events here: walks
and talks
Jeecs member Susie Clapham initiates a project to save Bancroft
Road Cemetery more
An important archive of historic East End photos
of Jewish life has come into the possession of Jeecs. To
see examples from the archive click the link:
East End archive
A reminder about subscriptions
Many subscriptions are now due, so a quick reminder
if yours is in this category; please renew now.
Individual membership is £25; family membership £40.
As you should have seen in the latest Cable, we have had to end
our lower subscription charge for East End residents. But if
this creates real difficulties for you please let us know and we
will try to help. Click the link to download your membership
renewal/join Jeecs form:
renewal form
A
very memorable September 2009 agm and Jewish heritage day event
at Nelson Street was crowned with the unveiling of our Great
Garden Street synagogue plaque in memory of Reverend Louis
Shaposnik. Great Garden Street synagogue amalgamated
with Nelson Street in the 1990s, and the plaque was rescued from
a local scrap dealer's yard. It is now back in its rightful
place. In the photo, left, Reverend Shaposnik's son Jack
is standing next to the plaque
September 7th 2008 - Jeecs celebrated the new edition
of Emanuel Litvinoff's book: Journey Through a Small Planet
more
September
3rd 2008 - Jeecs honoured Daniel Mendoza
(1764-1836), the
father of scientific boxing, with the unveiling of a plaque in
his memory in the grounds of Queen Mary's college, Mile End near
the spot where he was buried more
 The
Minnie Lansbury Memorial Clock, on the side of the Electric
building, Bow Rd, London E3, (photo left) has been restored.
Its unrestored photo is on the right. This important
Jewish landmark was officially unveiled on 16th October 2008, having
first been erected in the 1930s to commemorate the life of Minnie Lansbury
(born Glassman), a suffragette who died tragically young from
pneumonia in 1922 aged 32. Her husband, Edgar, was the son of
East End politician & Labour Party leader, George Lansbury,
Edgar later married an actress and their daughter is actress
Angela Lansbury. Tower Hamlets council supplied the
remaining money required for the clock's restoration after a
campaign launched by JEECS. The main fund raising was carried
out by the
Heritage of London Trust, and JEECS worked very closely
with the Trust. The Trust also supplied some funding to the
Congregation of Jacob Synagogue for the repair of its roof.
Are you trying to trace your roots?
For a modest fee advertise in our personal column:
Roots
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The remaining East End synagogues are:
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'The
Cable' is Jeecs informative
magazine & the latest issue (April 2010) is now on sale. 52 pages
feature articles on The Jewish Legion, an East End childhood, an
East End photo archive, The Belzer shul and more for just £2.00 plus
postage. Available from
Sales
East End interviewees wanted for film about Whitechapel Library
more
Hughes Mansions Disaster 60th Anniversary
Commemoration Event - letter to Guardian Newspaper
The
White Chapel that gave the area its name is now a patch of grass;
tower blocks have replaced many of the cramped little houses on the
narrow pavements; former synagogues have become leather emporia and
furniture stores. Gone is Gardiner's Corner the legendary meeting
place for lovers and rallying point for political rallies. But four
synagogues and the remnants of a once vibrant Jewish community remain,
joined now by the next generation of young Jews living and working in
the area.

The Jewish East
End Celebration Society has been established to identify, document
and where possible preserve this heritage for future generations both
of Jews and immigrant communities that have arrived in the area today.
The Society will not romanticise nor glorify the conditions that faced
Jewish refugees at the turn of the twentieth century as the settled in
London ’s East End, to escape pogroms and poverty in Eastern Europe.
The new Society will rather celebrate the birthplace of the community
that burgeoned there, was educated in its schools, streets, libraries
and art galleries and whose members have gone on to become some of the
most famous, successful and generous British citizens. The cradle of
Jewish life in Britain deserves to be celebrated.
'I applaud your
initiative. The Heritage of the Jewish East End is worth preserving'
Lord Rothschild, March 2003
'It is extremely
important that this part of London is recognised and celebrated for
its rich and diverse history, and that the Jewish people are
acknowledged for their role in creating a thriving and vibrant
community.' Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of State, Department
for Culture, Media and Sport, February 2004
To
the left is a view of the Torah Scrolls in Sandy's Row Synagogue,
founded 1854 - click the photo to enlarge

To the right is Fieldgate Street Great
Synagogue with the minaret and dome of the East London Mosque on
either side - a view symbolising the changing times in London's East End.
Jeecs is a
registered charity no: 1107714
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