*** DEBUG START ***
*** DEBUG END ***

Jewish genealogist’s conclusions on Jeremy Corbyn

by
02 October 2015

iStock

From Doreen Berger

Sir, — The Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, is mistaken in believing he may have a Jewish link in his family (Comment, 18 September).

His mother, Naomi Loveday Josling, is the descendant of the Revd Edward Nicholas Stott, a Yorkshire-born vicar living in Poplar. The biblical name of Naomi comes from Stott’s mother, daughter of the Dean of St Martin’s Church in Stepney. No trace of a Jewish ancestor can be found in the Josling family.

Although his father was David Corbyn, and his grandfather was Benjamin Corbyn, they are descendants of a Suffolk tailor, William Corbyn, and Dorothy Mary Bush, the daughter of a Norfolk chemist. Again, there is no Jewish pedigree to be found in the Corbyn family.

I am sorry to disappoint a politician, but it would seem that he is not of Jewish descent.

DOREEN BERGER
Chairman of The Anglo-Jewish Special Interest Group
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain
c/o The West London Synagogue
33 Seymour Place
London W1H 5AU

Browse Church and Charity jobs on the Church Times jobsite

Letters to the editor

Letters for publication should be sent to letters@churchtimes.co.uk.

Letters should be exclusive to the Church Times, and include a full postal address. Your name and address will appear below your letter unless requested otherwise.

Forthcoming Events

Women Mystics: Female Theologians through Christian History

13 January - 19 May 2025

An online evening lecture series, run jointly by Sarum College and The Church Times

tickets available

 

Festival of Faith and Literature

28 February - 2 March 2025

tickets available

 

Visit our Events page for upcoming and past events 

The Church Times Archive

Read reports from issues stretching back to 1863, search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention.

FREE for Church Times subscribers.

Explore the archive

Welcome to the Church Times

 

To explore the Church Times website fully, please sign in or subscribe.

Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month. (You will need to register.)