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citizens, published earlier
this month by the prestigious
London Sunday Times
newspaper, included no less
than 30 percent who were
identifiably Jewish.
Jewish representation in
such a list is all the more
remarkable because so much
of Britain's really big money
is old money; most of the of
the non-Jewish super-rich —
from Queen Elizabeth down
— are members of England's
landed aristocracy who have
inherited their vast riches.
The feature on Britain's 200
wealthiest citizens was
followed a week later in the
same publication by a six-
page spread on "The Jews in
Britain," based on excerpts
from a major new book on the
subject — The Club by
Stephen Brook.

According to Brook, himself
Jewish, those Jewish im-
migrants who washed up on
British shores were probably
not as bright as those who
made it to New York. He
quotes Jewish publisher An-
thony Blond to support his
case.
"The Jews who came here
were stupider," said Blond.
"They were sold tickets to
New York and — my grand-
father was one — they got off
in Hull thinking it was New
York!"
Stupider or not, the im-
migrants to Britain found a
very different society from
that encountered by their
brethren in the New World.
The United States
presented them with a socie-
ty that was overwhelmingly
immigrant both in its com-
position and complexion.
"The Jews," wrote Brook,
"were as welcome as anybody
else."
Those who arrived in Bri-
tain, however, soon came face
to face with what Brook
describes as "a string of civic
disabilities!' Not only was the
host country strongly based
on social class, a dislike of
foreigners and an even
greater dislike of any kind of
"cleverness," the existing
Jewish establishment was
also largely unsympathetic to
the new immigrant hordes.
Brook laments the fact that
British Jews do not begin to
match the artistic and in-
tellectual energy and ac-
complishments of American
Jewry. Essentially, he accuses
the British community of
Philistine and insular at-
titudes that ensure it never
does more "than cool its heels

on the sidelines of British
life:'
His view is not held by most
members of the 330,000
strong Jewish community
who consider the Jewish con-
tribution to British life an im-
pressive achievement.
Lord Goodman, a leading
"Court Jew" in the govern-
ment of Labor Prime Minister
Harold Wilson in the 1960s,
a wealthy attorney, chairman
of the Press Council and cur-
rently head of a college at Ox-
ford University, puts the mat-
ter quite bluntly.
"The disproportionate
number of Jews in public life,"
he says, "is largely due to the
/fact that they are of superior
quality.
"On the whole, the Jews are
cleverer, they are more cons-
cientious, basically they are
more honest. They are a
splendid community, and it's
a pleasure and a privilege to
belong to them!"

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Apprehension
In Britain

The Jewish community of
Britain today wears two faces.
The first is open, confident,
sure of its place in a liberal
society; the other is shadow-
ed by apprehension, doubt
and concern for the future.
Certainly the refugees who
settled in Britain before and
after World War II, and the
descendants of the turn-of-
the-century East European
immigrants, have done well.
Very well.
But there is a face of British
Jewry seldom seen by the
gentile world. Jewish schools,
for example, are carefully
guarded. In my children's
grade school in North Lon-
don, this means a security
roster for parents, a closed-
circuit television system to
monitor the school's entrance
and other key points in the
complex, and a caretaker
whose daily tasks include
guard duty.
Synagogues are also
security-conscious. Worship-
pers are counseled not to
gather in front of the
synagogue after services, and
officials take turn in manning
the front doors which are
opened only to members of
the congregation.
Recently the Defense Com-
mittee of the Board of
Deputies — the umbrella
organization of British Jewry
— issued a report that attacks
on Jewish targets had risen
by 50 percent in 1988. -

Let it be known:

ANDY MIGDAL

is 35 on May 9, 1989

Mark, Sheila, Rona, Jodi,
Dennis, Kathy, Neil, Adam
and Joshua

13

0

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945 WEST HURON • PONTIAC
1 2 Block West of Telegraph Road
CALL . 681•BRAS (681.2727)

Snop Monday to Saturday 9 30 to 5 PM
Gift Certificates Available

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

39