Jewish East End Celebration Society
4A Cornwall Mews South, London, SW7 4RX
[email protected]

Welcome to theJewishEastEndCelebrationSociety

 

The Jewish East End Celebration Society is a registe­red charity dedicated to recording and remembering the cultural heritage of the Jewish East End. Our aim is to focus attention on the history of Jewish life and culture as they developed in London’s East End and their legacy today. Our work includes the on-going documentation in print and on video of the architecture, music, literature, theatre, religious practices and daily lives of the Jewish community in the East End; the commissioning of projects in litera­ture, performance and the visual arts; and the creation of a permanent heritage centre and archive. With the changes in population living and working in the East End today we work closely with local authority and local community groups, and to establish links with other organisations whose work covers similar themes.

 

JEECS was founded on March 3, 2003 to save what remains of the rich Jewish heritage of the East End. The fact that only some 2,000 Jews were still in the East End did not deter us as the Jewish East End was the very cradle of the Anglo-Jewish community. It was essential not only to save the remaining buildings of the Jewish East End but to record the history of the people who had lived there and the events that had taken place there. We have not always achieved our aims, but we have had some notable successes.

 

We have organised numerous walks, curated an exhibition on the Siege of Sidney Street at the Museum of London Docklands, organised seminars on Cable Street (twice) Zionism, Isaac Rosenberg, Israel Zangwill and much more. We originated the Holocaust Memorial events in the East End. We have also taken up the cudgels in defence of Jewish interests in the East End. We played a prominent part in stopping the so-called “hijab” gates in Brick Lane and an important part in saving Bancroft Road library and in the abortive campaign to save Mother Levy’s maternity home in Underwood Road. We always co-operate with other Jewish cultural groups in London and with other faith groups in Tower Hamlets.

Who we are

Honorary Life President until his sad decease on February 25, 2024.

Bernard Kops z/l

Chairman

Clive Bettington

07941 367882

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Magazine editorial

David Walker

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Contact

Jewish East End Celebration Society

4A Cornwall Mews South, London, SW7 4RX.

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Latest news

  • Oral history of the Jewish East End

    Professor Jason Shela MBE recently contacted us about a research project he is currently conducting to collect the oral histories of people who grew up in London’s East End (which include his father, grandparents and great grandparents). Read More
  • Cinema book author needs your help

      Do you or your family have connections with the cinema in the East End? If so, Isabelle Seddon would love to hear from you. Read More
  • Three great films at JW3

    Three great films, including the Jewish East End classic East Endings, are being screened together at JW3, the Jewish cultural centre, in showings from Sunday April 6 through to April 10. Read More
  • Hackney History Festival returns for second year

    Not just the Jewish East End but the broader history and culture of an area that had a thriving Jewish life. Yes, the Hackney History Festival is back for its second year, even bigger and better. Running over two weekends, 10–11 May and 17–18 May, with satellite events throughout May, this year’s festival is a celebration of Hackney’s incredible past, with a jam-packed programme of Read More
  • Brady Clubs exhibition commemorates two great East End institutions

    Those great East End institutions The Brady Clubs are commemorated in what is set to be a superb exhibition at Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives from March 14 to June 21. Read More
  • Do you know the Gramophone Man?

    JEECS has been asked if anyone knows the name of the Gramophone Man, pictured here, his back story, when he retired, and the sort of music he played. Read More
  • More emerges about H Lotery and Co

    A while back, we had a reader asking if anyone had any information about a company his mother had worked for in the East End and which she remembered as being called Lottries. The inquiry sparked some fascinating replies, which identified the company as H Lotery and Co, and we've just had a response from the grandson of the company's Read More
  • Project seeks material and memories from the legendary Yiddish poet A.N. Stencl

    Did you know or do you have material from the Polish-born Yiddish poet Avrom-Nokhem Stencl (also known as A. N. Stencl) who was once famous in east London for selling his celebrated Yiddish magazine Loshn un lebn (Language & Life), for running his Friends of Yiddish Saturday afternoon literary society and for his many acclaimed publications of Yiddish poetry? Stencl Read More
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For the old Jeecs site, visit www.jeecs.org.uk/archive