The 100th anniversary of the admission of the first professing Jew as a member of Parliament, an event which marked the acquisition of full political equality by the Jews of Britain, was celebrated here tonight at a dinner under the auspices of the Anglo-Jewish Association. The first Jew to be sworn in Parliament, without having to take a Christian cath, was Baron Lionel de Rothschild, who took his seat on July 28, 1858.
“There is a great and glorious future for the Anglo-Jewish community in the life of this country,” R. N. Carvalho, president of the AJA, told the diners. “We are fortunate, he continued, “in our dual heritage as English men and women and as Jews and Jewesses We recognize the two strands in our make-up and believe that, as Jews, we have something special to give to this, our native land, and as Britons something to give our brethren overseas.”
Pointing out that in recent years AJA members, like other Jews, have been largely occupied with the problem of Israel, the Association head said, “in our case we have tried to see that the new state gets a chance in accordance with British standards of fair play and justice, a chance to establish herself as a home of freedom and a bastion of democracy. But we have never forgotten our duty to our country and our pride in our homeland,” he concluded.
Viscount Samuel sent a message to the dinner, expressing regret at his inability to attend. The guest of honor tonight was the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir. Among the speakers were Labor Party leader James Griffiths.
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