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Closure of London's Jewish Museum ‘leaves Jews at risk of being stereotyped’

The UK's foremost historian joins dozens of other prominent figures in calling for a Westminster Holocaust Memorial to be combined with a new Jewish Museum

June 8, 2023 09:12
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Programme Name: Story of the Jews - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. 3) - Embargoed for publication until: n/a - Picture Shows: Berlin Holocaust Memorial Simon Schama - (C) Oxford Film and Television - Photographer: Tim Kirby
3 min read

British Jews are in danger of being reduced to “misunderstood stereotypes” following the closure of London’s Jewish Museum and the proposed opening of a Holocaust memorial in Westminster, Sir Simon Schama has warned.

Public understanding of Jewish history is at risk of being whittled down to “the Bible, the Holocaust [and] the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, Sir Simon, one of the country’s leading historians, told the JC.

Instead of installing the £102 million monument to commemorate victims of the Shoah, funds should be diverted to a new Jewish Museum in central London, which could incorporate such a memorial, Sir Simon believes.

The London Jewish museum — Britain’s leading showcase of the community’s culture and heritage — recently announced plans to sell its current premises and said it was seeking a more suitable location in the centre of the city.

It is due to close its doors for the final time in July.

The announcement has prompted fresh calls from Jewish and non-Jewish figures for the Government to mothball its Westminster memorial project and divert the funds to the museum instead.