The 'Foreign Jews Protection Committee' was initially established in London in June 1916 in response to the Military Service Act, which meant Russian Jews were at risk of being deported back to Russia if they did not enlist in the British Army. 

This Collection is the minutes books of the Manchester branch of the FJPC, digitised courtesy of Manchester Archives+, which was established after the motion was passed during an emergency meeting called by the Garment Makers Union in August 1917. It documents all of the meetings held by the Committee between August 1917 and February 1919, when it was decided to change the name to the 'Manchester and Salford Jewish Boots Fund', helping those whose distress had come as a consequence of the war. 

There are many specific cases explained in these books, including of a woman named Mrs Kalushner, who appealed to the FJPC for help as her husband had been imprisoned as a conscientious objector. For more about Mrs Kalushner's husband Israel, you can visit his Personal Record here. 

The Committee held concerts and comedy nights in order to raise funds for their cause. Families who had registered with the FJPC were sent postcards, examples of which are also included in this Collection, to advise them to collect their allowances from the Committee Enquiry Office on New Bridge Street, Cheetham Hill on a weekly basis, usually on a Friday morning.