The British Lord Who Became Jewish: Four Words That Changed His Life

In the winter of 1788, an English newspaper reported an unusual story:

"Lord George Gordon has become a Jew. By order of Judge Buller, Mr. McManus, a London police officer, traveled to Birmingham, where he arrested Lord Gordon. Lord Gordon has been living in the city of Birmingham since last August, keeping away from everyone except the Jews, with whom he spends his time in friendship and warmth. Since leaving the Christian faith and accepting the laws of the Torah, he has been surrounded by a group of Jews who affirm that the lord is Moses our teacher risen from the dead to teach and illuminate the entire world."

The report described a transformation that astonished English society: a British aristocrat who had embraced Judaism and chosen to live among Jews.

An Aristocrat With a Passion for Justice

Lord George Gordon was born in 1751 into an aristocratic London family. His father, Cosmo Gordon, was a Scottish nobleman who held the title of the third Duke of Gordon. As was customary at the time, Gordon was sent into military service in his youth and joined the Royal Navy.

From an early age he showed a strong sense of justice. He consistently defended the weak and protested what he saw as wrongdoing. This uncompromising character did not please his superiors, and he was eventually dismissed from military service.

Several years later he entered public life. In 1774, at the age of twenty three, he was elected to the British Parliament. There he gained a reputation as an honest but sharp spoken and independent figure. It was said jokingly that Parliament contained three parties: the government, the opposition, and Lord Gordon.

The Gordon Riots

Gordon became widely known when he led protests against government plans to grant civil rights to Catholics. Many English citizens from other Christian denominations opposed extending equal rights to the Catholic minority.

At the head of a crowd of about forty thousand people, Gordon marched to Parliament demanding that the Catholic Relief Act be repealed. When the government refused, riots broke out across London. Mobs attacked Catholic churches and public buildings, looted shops, and set houses on fire. Prisons and banks were also targeted.

The army was eventually called in to restore order and opened fire on the rioters. The disturbances became known as the Gordon Riots. About 285 people were killed, making them the deadliest riots in London’s history.

Lord Gordon was arrested and charged with treason, a crime punishable by death. With the help of a skilled lawyer, he was acquitted and released.

A Chance Encounter With Judaism

One day, while walking through the town of Ipswich, Gordon noticed a house with a striking sign on the door. It read, "Kol dichfin yeitei veyechol" meaning, "Let anyone who is hungry come in and eat."

Curious to meet the generous homeowner, he entered and became acquainted with Reb Yitzchak Titterman, the local chazzan, shochet, and mohel. Their friendship lasted for years, and through it Gordon came to appreciate the beauty and depth of Judaism.

Eventually he decided to convert. He approached the rabbi of London, the gaon Rabbi David Tevele Schiff, but the rabbi firmly refused. It appears that he feared converting such a famous and controversial public figure could endanger the Jewish community.

Conversion in Birmingham

Lord Gordon did not abandon his goal. Meanwhile the government brought new charges against him for insulting and defaming government officials and foreign dignitaries. Fearing prosecution, he fled to Amsterdam, hoping to convert there and find refuge among the Jews.

When the English government learned he had arrived, it demanded that Dutch authorities return him to London. The mayor of Amsterdam ordered Gordon to leave the city within twenty four hours.

With no alternative, he returned to England but avoided London. Instead he went to Birmingham, about one hundred miles away, where he hid within the small Jewish community.

Rabbi Yaakov, the local rabbi, eventually agreed to convert him. At the age of thirty six, Lord George Gordon entered the covenant of Abraham and took the name Yisrael ben Avraham.

Little is known about his life during this period except that he lived in the home of a poor Jewish woman and kept a low profile within the community.

After several months the authorities discovered his whereabouts. He was arrested and brought to London under heavy guard. Those who saw him were astonished by his transformation. Dressed in Jewish clothing and wearing a dignified beard, he looked like a respected member of a beit midrash.

A Jew in Prison

The court sentenced him to five years in prison. Because of his noble background, he was given a private cell. One of the first things he did was place a mezuzah on the door.

He received permission to gather ten Jewish prisoners each day and pray with a minyan. He paid for kosher food not only for himself but also for other Jewish inmates.

Every Friday night, Yisrael ben Avraham conducted a small gathering with challah and wine, songs, and words of Torah. Many visitors, both Jewish and non-Jewish, came to meet the unusual figure.

He gave strict instructions to the guards that Jewish visitors should be admitted only if they wore a beard and payot, as he did not want to associate with Jews who were not observant.

Faith Until the End

After five years in prison, Lord Gordon was brought again before a judge. As was customary, he was ordered to remove his hat. Refusing to sit bareheaded, he declined. When the judge ordered the police to remove it by force, Gordon took a white kippah from his pocket and tied it to his head with a handkerchief, explaining that he was doing so for religious reasons.

The judge demanded that he request a pardon in order to secure his release, but he refused.

"To request a pardon is to admit guilt," he said, "and I have no guilt."

Just as the possibility of his release was being considered, Gordon contracted typhus, which was then spreading through the prisons.

In 1793, at the age of forty two, Yisrael ben Avraham passed away.

His family buried him in a Christian cemetery. His grave remained marked and known until 2017, when a new railway line was built. Under English law, graves more than two hundred years old may be relocated. With no descendants to claim it, the grave was cleared along with others nearby, and the resting place of his remains is now unknown.