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Jewish East End Celebration Society
P.O. Box 57317, London E1 3WG
[email protected]

An evening with Jennifer Rinkoff

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 10 October 2026
An evening with Jennifer Rinkoff discussing The Jewish Bakery: 100 Family Recipes from East London’s Oldest Jewish Bakery.

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The secret side of Andy, Stepney poet

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Written by: Andy Strowman
Published: 01 October 2026

Stepney-born Andy Strowman, poet of the East End, has sent us this fascinatng reminiscence of growing up in Stepney in  the 1950s, concluding with one  of his poems.

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Whitechapel Gallery invites you to share your East End Jewish history

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 03 July 2026
London's Whitechapel Gallery is holding what should be a fascinating free event on Thursday July 16, with a "sharing evening" inviting people to come in with objects, photographs, documents or mementos connected to London’s Jewish East End. The Gallery is also holding a walk with expert guide Rachel Kolsky on the same day.

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Nelson Street shul, the last purpose-built Synagogue in the East End

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Written by: Tower Hamlets Slice. https://towerhamletsslice.co.uk/
Published: 14 May 2026

When papers reported that East London Central Synagogue’s (ELCS) building was the target of alleged arson, they struggled to name it.

Most, including the Slice, chose to name it a ‘former synagogue on Nelson Street’. The struggle with naming the synagogue is that, in many ways, it’s not really just one place of worship.

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Grodzinski bakery memories sought

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 24 April 2026
A request from noted historian Pam Fox, author of several brilliant books on Jewish social history, for information on and anecdotes about the East End's famous Grodzinski bakery business.
If you can help, please contact Pam via her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pam.fox.108 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Asleep through the Battle of Cable Street

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Written by: Arnold Schwartzman
Published: 23 March 2026

 

The distinguished Oscar-winning film director and illustrator Arnold Schwartzman OBE has sent us the following fascinating reminiscences.

I may take the claim to be the sole survivor of the Battle of Cable Street!

Aged 9 months, I was fast asleep upstairs in my grandfather Michael Finkleson’s boot repair shop at 292a Cable Street as the battle raged along the street.

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Escape from the East End Blitz

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Written by: Arnold Schwartzman
Published: 23 March 2026

On September 7 1940 I was four years old living with my parents in Sidney Street, in London's East End, on the first day of the London Blitz.

I recall that it was a hot evening and my mother had set three salads on the kitchen table when I noticed out of the window that on the neighbouring flat roof there was a man stripped to the waist washing his face in an enamel bowl. 

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East End Jews: Secret tales from the London Yiddish Press

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 15 February 2026

Join Vivi Lachs historian and Yiddish speaker on Thursday 26 March from 7pm-8.30pm at Finchley Church End Library, Finchley, Barnet showcasing the book 'East End Jews: Secret tales from the London Yiddish Press’ it offers an unparalleled view into the life, labour, and the joys of London's Jewish East End, from its heyday in the 1890s until the 1950s.

Drawing from a column in the London Yiddish press, these deceptively accessible, often humorous urban sketches capture incisive and sometimes cheeky encounters with challenges and debates of the time.

This entertaining talk with performed readings paints a new picture of the Jewish East End.

Free tickets at https://barnet-libraries.played.co/venues/63aff2ec-f2d5-4474-90d4-69c74695f118/sessions/131b5944-4bd3-419a-993e-1d3039bfa08a

See more details on our events page.

This is not a jEECS event but one we're pleased to publicise.

 

Oral history of the Jewish East End

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 22 April 2025

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).

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Cinema book author needs your help

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 11 April 2025
Do you or your family have connections with the cinema in the East End? If so, Isabelle Seddon would love to hear from you.

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Do you know the Gramophone Man?

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 21 January 2025

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.

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More emerges about H Lotery and Co

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Written by: David Walker
Published: 27 September 2024

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 owner. You can read all about it here: https://www.jeecs.org.uk/readers-help/162-can-you-help-identify-lottries     

  • Two great East End events
  • Seeking the human being within, behind the cloak
  • East End playwright, novelist and poet Bernard Kops dies aged 97
  • A fresh look at the Siege of Sydney Street

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Celebrating the Jewish East End

Our aim is to increase awareness of the history and culture of London's Jewish East End, to preserve what remains and record what has now gone.  Our magazine - The Cable - contains a wealth of articles and photos that will interest all who wish to rediscover the rich history of our immigrant forefathers.

We have organised walks, talks, film shows and more to celebrate the Jewish story. 

You can email JEECS at [email protected]

Keep in touch

Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jewish-East-End-Celebration-Society/176990939962?fref=ts 

Email us at [email protected]

 

 

Latest news

  • An evening with Jennifer Rinkoff
  • The secret side of Andy, Stepney poet
  • Whitechapel Gallery invites you to share your East End Jewish history

Latest events

  • East End Jews: Secret tales from the London Yiddish Press

Latest readers help

  • Sikh peddlers in the Jewish East End
  • Israel Cohen from Jubilee Street or nearby
  • Can you identify this photograph?

For the old Jeecs site, visit www.jeecs.org.uk/archive

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Jewish East End Celebration Society