Whitehall Conference
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The Whitehall Conference was a gathering of prominent English merchants, clergymen, and lawyers convened by Oliver Cromwell for the purpose of debating whether the Jews should be readmitted to England. The conference lasted from December 4th to the 18th, 1655.
While Cromwell himself was in favour of Jewish resettlement, the committee members ultimately broke down into three groups. The London merchants opposed resettlment due to fears of economic competition, while the clergymen disfavoured it on religious grounds. The second group, which consisted mainly of Cromwell's officials and military figures, backed readmission with certain precautions built in. They were in favour of giving the Jews a probationary period wherein if they misbehaved, they could be expelled (they were expected not to blaspheme Christ or attempt to convert Christians). The third faction consisted of the Millenarians and Sabbatarians, both of whom broke down into radical and more conservative wings. The conservative wing of this faction supported readmission with clauses built in that would make it possible for the Jews to be thrown out if things did not go as planned. The radical wing argued that it was England's divine duty to readmit the Jews, or else face God's wrath. Most members of this third faction hoped to convert the Jews to Christianity upon their arrival in England, therby hastening the second coming and the advent of the messianic age.
While the conference failed to reach a definitive conclusion as to whether Jewish readmission should be carried out, it was significant for clarifying that resettlement was legally permissible. Most prominent legal scholars agreed that "there is no law against their (the Jews) coming". This was correct, as the Jews had been expelled from England in 1290 on the basis of a royal decree, not on the basis of parliamentary legislation. This finding would prove crucial to the eventual resettlement of the Jewish community by the 1660s.
