'Nothing Specifically Jewish in Athletics'? Sport, Physical Recreation and the Jewish Youth Movement in London, 1895–1914

Abstract

Between 1880 and 1914, London became the permanent home for thousands of Jewish immigrants hailing from Eastern Europe. This paper explores the significant role played by sport and physical recreation in the so-called 'Anglicisation' of the Jewish immigrant children within a newly created network of youth clubs and social and sporting organisations. While many established English Jews believed that introducing and promoting British sport among the 'alien' children was an effective means of 'Anglicisation', sections within the Jewish community soon began to fear that the focus on physical recreation was undermining traditional Jewish culture and contributing to a 'drift' towards religious indifference and apostasy.