Envisioning Jewish Unity in the 19th Century: The Tributes to Sir Moses Montefiore, 1840-1885 Seminar

The chair for is seminar will be Dr Claire Le Foll.

The presentation will discuss the tributes which were sent by Jewish communities, congregations, associations and institutions from the world over to Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) in recognition of his exceptional achievements on behalf of Jewish communities under duress, his commitment to the Land of Israel, as well as to religious observance and to charity. The presentation will argue that these tributes indeed posit Jewish unity as an ideal, though in their variety reflect the complexities of Jewish culture in the 19th century. The presentation will also introduce the new online exhibition of this collection, on loan from the Montefiore Endowment to UCL Special Collections.

François Guesnet is Sidney and Elizabeth Corob Reader in Modern Jewish History in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London and currently serves as chairman of the UCL Grand Challenge of Intercultural Interaction Executive Group. He specializes in the early modern and nineteenth century history of Polish and eastern European Jewry. His publications include Polnische Juden im 19. Jahrhundert: Lebensbedingungen, Rechtsnormen und Organisation im Wandel (Cologne, Vienna: Boehlau 1998) and numerous contributions and articles. Among other volumes, he recently edited an anthology of non-fictional Polish writings about the Jews of Poland, Der Fremde als Nachbar. Polnische Positionen zur jüdischen Präsenz in Polen. Texte seit 1800 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp 2009). Forthcoming publications include an edited volume on antisemitism in Poland and Hungary and conference proceedings about the history of Warsaw as a Jewish metropolis in the 19th and 20th centuries.

All welcome.