Publisher's Synopsis
The story of Jewish emancipation is not well-known, nor how Jews made such an important contribution to law and democracy in England. In The Jewish Contribution to English Law, Barrington Black explains how Jews first came to the UK, were expelled, returned, and eventually took their place in Parliament and on the bench. He tells of the first Jewish lawyers as well as those who rose to be judges, President of the Supreme Court, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Chancellor, Master of the Rolls and Attorney-General. The turning point was a Statute of 1858 which allowed Jews to take an oath compatible with their religious beliefs (extending comparable benefits conferred on Catholics almost 70 years before). This opened the doors for the first unconverted Jewish MP, Lionel de Rothschild, after which th