Howard Jacobson discusses what it means to be Jewish

Acclaimed writer Howard Jacobson discussed what it means to be a Jew in 21st Century Britain before a packed audience on Wednesday 6 October 2010. The event to launch the UJIA Legal Group's new campaign was the first time the writer has spoken to an all-Jewish audience about his latest book, The Finkler Question, published in August. The evening attracted over 110 guests and was hosted by international law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in London Bridge.

With its new campaign, the UJIA Legal Group aims to raise £35,000 to build a classroom at Shlomi High School in northern Israel, the country's first cross-communal secondary school where 350 religious and secular children learn under one roof. The UJIA Legal Group brings together people from across the legal profession including judges, barristers, solicitors and legal journalists to support UJIA's work for young people and education Israel and the UK.

Howard Jacobson told guests:

"I always see the Jewishness in a Jew. Would it be nice to grow out of it? No. I take great pleasure it in. If you can't see the Jew in the Miliband brothers, then you're missing out on a good Jewish joke!"

He added: "There's an awful lot of good feeling towards Jews in England and towards Israel. It's just that people don't know how to express it."

Jacob Levy, UJIA Legal Group co-chair, said:

"The event represented the launch of the new UJIA Legal Group, formerly the Bench and Bar Committee. Howard was both entertaining and thought provoking, putting smiles across some usually very serious looking legal faces. We have an important task ahead of us this year - our mission is the continued support of the new high school for the people of Shlomi in northern Israel."

You can see more photos from the evening in our photo gallery.