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The Image of the Jewish Street Seller in Nineteenth Century London
The picture held by the Archive of the Jewish Museum London (catalog number
C 1997.I, p. 356) shows a number of people getting off boats in London harbor.
A female figure, Britannia, holding a copy of the Aliens Act stops an orthodox Jew¬
ish family. The caption states: "Britannia: I can no longer offer shelter to fugitives.
England is not a free country,"
In March 1906, another cartoon representing a similar approach was published
as the cover of a special supplement to the Sphere magazine. The full-page illustra¬
tion takes part in the discussion of the Aliens Act and offers a response to the view
that unregulated immigration represented a danger. The picture (catalog number:
1385.1) entitled “Our Alien Immigrants. How the New Alien Act Operates” (ill.
180)°' shows people waiting outside the immigrations courtroom, along the banks
of the Thames, which is visible through the open door. There are two men and two
women accompanied by five children, all of them looking poor, helpless, and harm¬
less. In fact, the youngest immigrants are what the cartoon is about. The Aliens Act
was supposed to stop the immigration of people who would most likely reinforce the
poorest class of the society, but it also affected the children of the immigrants—the
most helpless and vulnerable people, who, if given the chance, could become valuable
members of the society. People opposing the new regulation often pointed out that
England should not introduce laws detrimental to people whose lives were in danger.
Shortly after the introduction of the Aliens Act it became clear that it was not used
just to keep criminals out but to discourage immigrants in general. The data pre¬
sented by the Jewish Museum London proves that many people were refused entry
into the British Isles, but if they had appealed they might have been granted entry
(in the first month after the introduction of the law, 202 aliens were refused entry,
199 appealed and only 89 of those were refused permission again).
Conclusions
‘The cartoons representing Jews in nineteenth-century Britain were based on simple
stereotypes that were created or adopted by the society after the readmission of
the Jews. The stereotypes varied depending on the time they gained broad accep¬
tance, the viewers they were intended for, the people they depicted, and even the
approach toward the minority they presented (which changed over time). Most of
the caricatures devoted to everyday life expressed a belief that Jews were poor, un¬
educated, hardly able to communicate, and taking advantage of every opportunity
to make a profit or gain privilege. They rarely harkened back to early Jewish history
and rarely represented the members of the minority as “the chosen people.” Un¬
like the written sources, the cartoons never represented them as hard working and
31 hetp://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/search-our-collections-new?adlibid=18590&offset=0 (accessed
04.07.2012).
92 hetp://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/search-our-collections-new?adlibid-18590&offset-0 (accessed
04.07.2012).
405