Judaism and Jewish life and identity outside of the religious sphere have developed in many different trajectories throughout different historical periods and geographical contexts. This study day will consist of a series of talks from academics from the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, highlighting the latest research from its members. We will introduce you to some key questions in the current debates about Jewishness at significant moments in history from ancient times to the present day and in different arenas of Jewish life. We very much look forward to the opportunity for questions, discussion and debate!

‘Rebel Jews: Resistance and Jewishness' 
(Dr Helen Spurling and Dr Tom Plant) 
The Maccabean Revolt of 167 BCE is traditionally portrayed as a Jewish resistance movement led by the Maccabeans against their Greek rulers, the Seleucids. Against all odds, the revolt was successful and is celebrated today in the festival of Chanukkah. The early Jewish writings on this revolt, however, present a complex array of attitudes by Jewish society towards Greek rule and culture. This session will ask what this shows about Jewish religion and identity at the close of the biblical period. The session will then move forward to the modern period to explore the ways in which the myth and memory of the revolt has been used as a means of defining and defending Jewish identity in twentieth century Britain.

Florence Greenberg - traditional Jewish cook or culinary innovator? 
(Dr Jane Gerson) 
Florence Greenberg's cookery book was the mainstay of Anglo-Jewish homes in the post Second World War period. By the end of her long life (she died aged 98 in 1980) she had become an iconic figure representing traditional Jewish cookery in Britain. But as a trained nurse and nutritionist, Florence Greenberg's early influences led to a more modern, innovative attitude to Jewish cookery than is generally understood. She also had quite a relaxed 'Victorian' approach to kashrut somewhat at odds with the increasing stringency of postwar Britain. So how 'traditional' was Florence Greenberg's cookery - and what do we mean by 'tradition' anyway?

‘Jewish Identity and Migration’ 
(Jennifer Craig-Norton) 
Unaccompanied Jewish children who came to Great Britain in Kindertransports often faced challenges to their Jewishness and Jewish identity. This was especially true for orthodox Jewish children and those whose identity was already complicated before arrival in England. Using case studies from my research on German born children of Polish parents who came on Kindertransports after their expulsion from Germany, this session will explore layers of identity, both religious and national, and the challenges these posed for children uprooted and separated from homes and families in the vortex of war.

‘Songs and Survival among Jewish Displaced Persons after the Holocaust' 
(Dr Shirli Gilbert) 
This session will offer a sketch of the lively and diverse musical life that flourished in the Displaced Persons' camps of Europe after the Holocaust, illustrated with some original recordings from the time. The many songs that were sung in these transitional camps offer us insight into how surviving victims understood what had happened to them, and what they thought about the individual and collective future.

From the East End to Eastenders: British Television's Image of Jewish Life’ (Dr James Jordan) 
This introductory talk will chart the changing depiction of Jews and Jewish identities in British television. The talk will take as its starting point a 1930’s documentary of East End life and move to present day, discussing the regular and often controversial portrayals of Jewish life in soap operas, one-off dramas and comedies.