I believe that the comparative lack of tension between Jewish and other communities in Britain has been the Jewish willingness to pay lip service to their own religious laws and the sometimes restrictive laws of the land and local by-laws, while subverting all of them.

Sometimes this has resulted in wry humour. As an example, in Golders Green and Hampstead, one could often see well-dressed Jewish ladies with gorgeous flamboyant hair styles, out shopping. The flamboyant hair was of course a wig, designed to preserve the "modesty" of the lady, by not showing a strand of her own.

I learned that morsel of information from a girl I knew who stayed with her sister and brother-in-law there while the brother-in-law served at the Army's postal service centre in nearby Mill Hill Barracks. Another acqaintance is the son of a woman who was employed to light fires for Jewish families in Cheetham Hill in Manchester, if these were needed on the Sabbath.

As you can imagine, none of the Jewish people in question could be described as "Orthodox", even if they did dress in the black clothing associated with orthodoxy, especially on the Sabbath.

In Britain, any restrictive religious sect is increasingly suspected of sanctimony, even those home-grown. By comparison, those whose emphasis is on internal spirituality rather than external display of righteousness are more respected. The Rastafarians are generally better regarded for example, than the rigid "Wee wee Frees" in Scotland.