1840 meeting The first of these meetings took place on July 3, 1840, in protest of
the blood libel accusation leveled against the Jewish community in
Damascus. This meeting was initiated in response to a request from 210 prominent city residents. Speeches were delivered by Daniel O'Connell,
Alderman Thompson, Dr. Bowring, and others, who expressed their disbelief in the accusation and called for the release of the accused individuals. Resolutions passed during the meeting were transmitted by the Lord Mayor to the chief ambassadors of foreign nations residing in England. A particularly favorable response was received from
Nicholas I,
Emperor of Russia.
1882 meeting Over four decades later, meetings were convened by the Lord Mayor of London to protest against
the mistreatment of Jews in the
Russian Empire. These injustices were brought to public attention through articles published by
Joseph Jacobs in the London
Times on January 9 and 11, 1882. Consequently, a requisition was made for a Mansion House Meeting, which garnered the support of thirty-eight signatories, including
the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Cardinal Manning,
Charles Darwin,
John Tyndall, and eighteen Members of Parliament. This meeting sparked a series of gatherings throughout the United Kingdom, including one held at the
University of Oxford. As a consequence of this meeting, a Mansion House Fund was established, raising £108,000. This fund was administered by a Mansion House Committee, which later absorbed the £100,000 collected after the Guildhall Meeting, when it was renamed the Russo-Jewish Committee. In the early stages of its work, the Mansion House Committee oversaw the relocation of large numbers of Russian Jewish refugees from
Brody to America, with a branch committee based in Liverpool under the leadership of B. L. Benas. Sir
Julian Goldsmid served as the chairman of both committees, with N. S. Joseph fulfilling the role of honorary secretary. The committee actively participated in conferences addressing the plight of Russian Jews and played a role in founding agricultural colonies in locations such as
Moosomin, Saskatchewan,
Painted Woods, North Dakota,
Vineland, New Jersey, and elsewhere. In addition to assisting the
Jewish Board of Guardians by facilitating immigration, repatriation, and settlement of refugees, the Russo-Jewish Committee also established a Location and Information Bureau in London as a labour registry, and initiated evening classes in English for refugees, enabling them to secure employment beyond congested urban areas.
1890 meeting The requisition for a third Guildhall Meeting of December 10, 1890, was signed by eighty-three individuals, once again led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Manning. Among the signatories were nineteen peers, twenty-seven Members of Parliament, and eminent representatives from various learned professions. A resolution, proposed by
the Duke of Westminster and seconded by the Bishop of Ripon, was adopted. It affirmed, In the name of the citizens of London, a memorandum was sent to the Russian czar, appealing for political and social equality for Jews in Russia. The czar declined to receive this communication, and it was consequently returned through the foreign office. ==References==