He committed suicide along with nearly the entire Jewish community, rather than face death or conversion at the hands of an angry mob.
[3]: 58 He was one of those who attended the coronation of Richard I, doubtless as the representative of the York congregation, and escaped the London massacre.
[3]: 101 On his return to York, where he had a house which rivaled a citadel in the scale and magnificence of its construction, he was attacked by the mob, and with his wife and children joined other fugitives who sought refuge in Clifford's Tower.
When the decision was reached to put one another to death rather than fall into the hands of the enemy, Josce was the first to act, slaying his wife, Anna, and his children; he himself was slain last by Yom-Tov of Joigny.
[4] It is probable that Josce and Samuel Hoppecole held the land in London on which the chief synagogue was built.