TWENTIETH-CENTURY JEWISH LGBTQ LONDON and the Rainbow Jews Heritage Project1

Exploring twentieth-century LGBTQ Jewish London, this article argues that the everyday places where intersectional, sexual and cultural, religious and spiritual identities were negotiated, experienced, explored, and reconciled must be preserved in place. Adopting a historical method, it draws on the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inChange over time Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 206 - 266
Main Author Lesh, James
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press 01.10.2018
Subjects
20th century
Antisemitism
Community
Cultural heritage
Historians
Homophobia
Intersectionality
Jewish life & ethics
Jewish people
LGBTQ people
Oral history
Rainbows
Religion
Religious orthodoxy
Spirituality
Transgender persons
United Kingdom > UK
England
London England
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Exploring twentieth-century LGBTQ Jewish London, this article argues that the everyday places where intersectional, sexual and cultural, religious and spiritual identities were negotiated, experienced, explored, and reconciled must be preserved in place. Adopting a historical method, it draws on the experiences and resources recorded by the community-led "Rainbow Jews" heritage project, 2012-15, including a new collection of forty oral histories. Over the course of the twentieth century, the nexus of Jewish and LGBTQ lives, the places where people lived, rallied, played, and prayed, the streets, parks, and community halls, shifted from the East End to the West End, from Central to North London. This reflected broader urban, social, and historical changes, overlapping with the evolving geographies of the broader LGBTQ and Jewish communities. Few of these places are significant for their architectural value or historical fabric, so they evade conventional urban heritage practice. This article suggests that treating heritage as a social and historical and an urban and spatial process generates challenging yet surmountable demands for preserving heritage in place. It proposes that dynamic means are required to safeguard the legacy of valuable LGBTQ heritage projects such as "Rainbow Jews."
ISSN:2153-053X
2153-0548