Talk: Vanished from Sight? Unlocking North East Jewish Heritage

Great Hall, Sutherland Building, Northumbria University’s Newcastle City Campus

6pm - 8pm.

Free. Booking required.

In partnership with North East Museums and Northumbria University.

Talks and film screenings followed by a drinks reception. 

Speakers:

• Dr Avram Taylor, Northumbria University
• Sophie Bellamy, PhD candidate at Durham University

In this evening of talks and archive film, Vanished from Sight? Unlocking North East Jewish Heritage offers a rare glimpse of the rich variety of Newcastle's Jewish history from the 18th to the 20th century, from football matches in the snow to Sunday night dances, committee squabbles to the coming together in times of crisis. 

Find out all about Tyne & Wear Archives' Unlocking Our North East Jewish Heritage project, and the work being undertaken to create access to the extensive archive material. 

Dr Avram Taylor will share an overview of Newcastle’s Jewish history, from its origins in the 18^th century and its growth with arrivals from Eastern Europe in the late 19^th century, to more recent years as the population of the mainstream Jewish community in Newcastle has declined. 

Sophie Bellamy will share her research into everyday Jewish life in Newcastle in the first half of the 20^th century.  Tyne & Wear Archives’ collection of Jewish material reveals complex webs of identity, connection, and lived experiences embedded throughout the city’s landscape.

About the speakers: 

Dr Avram Taylor is an Assistant Professor in History at Northumbria University with a particular interest in the history of immigration and ethnicity. With a specialism in British Jewish History, Avram has published articles on this topic. Avram is currently researching foreign labour in post-war Britain. 

Sophie Bellamy is a PhD candidate at Durham University. Her research explores the rise and decline of North East Jewish communities in collaboration with Tyne & Wear Archives. Alongside her research, Sophie is part of an interdisciplinary team at Durham University working on at-risk heritage in Sunderland.

Archive films provided by Yorkshire and North East Film Archive.

[Image: 'Presentation of an electric wheelchair to Dunston Hill Hospital, by the Association of Jewish Ex-Service Men and Women, 3 November 1960']