Jews in the Welsh Imagination

This book offers a comprehensive study of the ways Wales and Welsh people have historically engaged with—and imagined—Jews, Judaism, and Israel-Palestine. This volume argues that Wales is allosemitic, a term that encompasses both positive and negative attitudes towards Jews, but which views Jews as fundamentally different from the non-Jewish mainstream.

Jews and Judaism have long—albeit hidden—histories in Wales, but traditionally, little has been written about non-Christian religions in Wales. Jews often served as allegorical figures in medieval poetry and chronicles; in the early modern period, Welsh Christian evangelists expressed missionary zeal toward Jews. In the twentieth century, policy driven by Welshmen like David Lloyd George and T.E. Lawrence changed the Middle East’s political landscape forever. In the modern era, many Welsh intellectuals have become deeply involved in discussions around colonialism and conquest through the lens of the Israel-Palestine conflict: the latest iteration of a centuries-old conversation about self-determination, nationhood, identity, and more.