Cromwell and Jewish Immigration

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In 1290 England expelled its Jewish population entirely.  Under Oliver Cromwell Jews were readmitted to England, but not for reasons of banking or commerce as we might expect.  The reason might seem quite off the wall to our way of thinking.

Cromwell and his Puritan advisors were convinced that the 'Last Days' were about to happen, and the return of the Messiah was near.  They believed that the sign of the last days would be that all the Jews in the world would be converted. The problem was that there were no Jews in England, so a group of Jews from the Netherlands offered to come to England and fill the void.  Their offer was accepted.

From 'How God Made the English', a BBC TV production.