At the end of the 12th century, a series of blood libels and fatal pogroms were perpetrated in England, particularly on the east coast.

Notably, on 16 March 1190, during the run up to the Third Crusade, the Jewish population of York was massacred at the site where Clifford's Tower now stands,[5] and King Edward I of England passed the Statute of the Jewry (Statutum de Judaismo) in 1275, restricting the community's activities, most notably outlawing the practice of usury (charging interest).

In 1656, Oliver Cromwell made it clear that the ban on Jewish settlement in England and Wales would no longer be enforced, but when Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israel brought a petition to allow Jews to return, the majority of the Protectorate Government turned it down.

Despite the Protectorate government's rejection of the Rabbi's petition, the community considers 1656 to mark the readmission of the Jews to England and Wales.

[7] Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), of Jewish birth although he joined the Church of England, served in government for three decades, twice as prime minister.

Many German and Polish Jews seeking to escape the Nazi Holocaust arrived in Britain before and after the Second World War.

The absolute number of Jews has been gradually rising since records began; in the 2011 census, 263,346 people in England and Wales answered "Jewish" to the voluntary question on religion, compared with 259,927 in of 2001.

[21] However, the subject of who is a Jew is complex, and the religion question did not record people who may be Jewish through other means, such as ethnically and culturally.

[24] From 2005 to 2008, the Jewish population increased from 275,000 to 280,000, attributed largely to the high birth rates of Haredi (or ultra-Orthodox) Jews.

Meanwhile, the estimated number of ‘Mainstream’ (non-Strictly Orthodox) births per annum increased to a lesser extent over the same period, going from 1,844 to 1,889 (+2.4%).

However, the population quadrupled in just a few decades after 1881 as a large number of Jews fled oppression in the Russian Empire.

Towns and villages in Hertsmere with large Jewish populations include Borehamwood (6,160), Bushey (5,590), and Radlett (2,980).

Hertsmere and Barnet councils are the most Jewish local authorities in England, with Jews composing one in six and seven residents respectively.

Around 30% of the Scottish Jewish population, or around 1,510 people, resides in East Renfrewshire, largely in or around the Glasgow suburb of Newton Mearns.

It is heavily over-subscribed and applies strict rules on admissions, which led to a discrimination court case, R (E) v Governing Body of JFS, in 2009.

[48] The annual Limmud festival is a high-profile educational event of the British Jewish community, attracting a wide range of international presenters.

[49] The 2001 UK Census showed that 30.5% of economically active Jews were self-employed, compared to a figure of 14.2% for the general population.

[57] There are a number of Jewish newspapers, magazines and other media published in Britain on a national or regional level.

Cookbooks grew in popularity in Britain during the mid-1800s and shaped the overall cuisine that British Jews experienced by teaching and inspiring housewives how to cook.

Since, they had a history filled with Diaspora, dishes varied heavily and included fish, meat, spaghetti, pudding, or soup.

[59] A distinctly British Jewish dish is fried gefilte fish balls, rather than the more common poached variety in aspic.

[62] An October 2019 poll of British Jews showed 64% would vote Conservative, 24% Liberal Democrat, and only 6% Labour.

[66] In London, most of the top constituencies with the largest Jewish populations voted Conservative in the 2010 general election - these are namely, Finchley and Golders Green, Hendon, Harrow East, Chipping Barnet, Ilford North, and Hertsmere in Hertfordshire.

The exceptions were Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Hampstead and Kilburn, which both voted Labour in the election.

Outside the region, large Jewish constituencies voted for Labour, namely Bury South and Blackley and Broughton.

[4] Jews were regularly subjected to discrimination and humiliation which waxed and waned over the centuries, gradually declining.

[5] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the number of Jews in Britain greatly increased due to the exodus from Russia, which resulted in a large community forming in the East End of London.

[6] Popular sentiment against immigration was used by the British Union of Fascists to incite hatred against Jews, leading to the Battle of Cable Street in 1936, when the fascists were forced to abandon their march through an area with a large Jewish population when the police clearing the way were unable to remove barricades defended by trade unionists, left wing groups and residents.

The Community Security Trust (CST) was formed in 1994 to "[protect] British Jews from antisemitism and related threats".

[73] It works in conjunction with the police and other authorities to protect Jewish schools, Synagogues, and other community institutions.