London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Church of England Will Apologize for Its Role in Expelling Jews from Britain During Middle Ages

Church of England Will Apologize for Its Role in Expelling Jews from Britain During Middle Ages

The Church of England will formally apologize for the banishment of Jews from medieval Britain.
The Telegraph reports church leaders on Monday revealed plans to offer an "act of repentance." Jewish groups welcomed the action by the church, saying it's "better late than never."

To the casual observer, the history of the ouster of English Jews from the British Isles mirrors images from Nazi Germany in the early 1930s.

During the Middle Ages, the church endorsed legislation restricting Jews in the country, forcing them to wear identifying badges and banning them from certain professions. This led to the nationwide expulsion of Jews in the 13th century, according to the newspaper.

Jews were also forbidden to own land, and could not pass on any inheritance to their children. Instead, all monies or land went to the Crown.

According to the English history of the time, hundreds of Jews were arrested, hanged, or imprisoned.

King Edward I passed the Edict of Expulsion against Jews in 1290. The law expelling all Jews from the country remained in place throughout the remainder of the Middle Ages.

It wasn't overturned until 1657 when Oliver Cromwell allowed Jews to return to the island nation.

Even though the Church of England did not come into existence until several hundred years later (1541) during the rule of King Henry VIII, church leaders have apologized for the role the church has played throughout English history and its part in pushing anti-Semitism.

The Rt Revd Dr. Michael Ipgrave OBE, Bishop of Lichfield and chairman of the Council of Christians and Jews, said: "In 2019 the Church of England published God's Unfailing Word, which included a historic expression of repentance for the Christian church's participation and collusion in over a thousand years of anti-Judaic thinking and practice in England.

"This key teaching document mentioned the possibility of local churches modeling such repentance within specific acts of Christian worship," Ipgrave said.

"The 800th anniversary of the Synod of Oxford is one such opportunity for a local expression of repentance. This is currently being explored in partnership with the Council of Christians and Jews," he continued.

The archbishop also said the church is looking at the idea of holding a symbolic service on the anniversary of the 1222 Synod of Oxford, "the 'Magna Carta' of English canon law which implemented some of the most egregious anti-Semitic decrees."

In response, Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which provides security to the UK's Jewish community and which records anti-Semitic incidents, told the Telegraph: "The phrase 'better late than never' is truly appropriate here."

"The historic trauma of medieval English anti-Semitism can never be erased and its legacy survives today – for example, through the persistence of the 'blood libel' allegation that was invented in this country," Rich noted.

"But at a time of rising anti-Semitism, the support and empathy of the Church of England for our Jewish community is most welcome as a reminder that the Britain of today is a very different place," he said.

The CST said from May 8 to June 7 of this year, 460 incidents (316 offline and 144 online) of anti-Semitism were reported to the charity. It is the highest monthly total of incidents reported in the United Kingdom since record-keeping began in 1984.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×