ABSTRACT
The anti-alien sentiment did not benefit the rise of the Jewish trade unions. The economic depression that began in late 1901 brought an end to the ambitious plans of the Jewish trade unions to found a Jewish Trades Council. In both the Jewish trade unions and the Jewish political movements, this united Jewish front was conducive to integration in the English movement. Relations were strained between the two shoemakers' unions. The officials of the International believed that, given the labour relations within the shoe industry, joining forces with the small masters would be best, while the Upper Machinists – strong believers in class struggle', according to The Jewish Chronicle – opposed this idea. The English trade union members appeared less than delighted with their new Jewish members. They often insisted that immigrant Jewish workers were unwilling to organize. In 1904 the end of the economic depression ushered in a new heyday in the Jewish labour movement.
