On the last night of Hanukkah 2023, a service was held in York on the site of the 12th-13th century Jewbury cemetery. The event was led by Rabbi Elisheva Salamo, the first rabbi to live in York for over 700 years.
Prayers were said and 150 candles lit for the people known to have died in the pogrom at Clifford’s Tower in 1190. In the history of England’s Jewish communities, York is forever linked with this period of murderous antisemitism.
After attacks in London around the coronation of Richard I in 1189, the violence swept northwards. By March 1190, a mob instigated by Richard de Malbisse had laid siege to the castle in York, in which the local Jewish community had sought sanctuary. Those sheltering were told to choose between forced conversion or death. But when the few who did emerge to convert were immediately slaughtered, the remaining captives elected to commit mass suicide and the castle was set alight.
