Josce of York

Josce of York (Latin: Joceus; died 1190) was the leader of the Jewish community in York, England, and the leading figure in the York pogrom of 1190. He committed suicide along with nearly the entire Jewish community, rather than face death or conversion at the hands of an angry mob.

Biography Josce is mentioned in the earliest surviving English shetar (receipt for debt repayment), of 1176. He was one of those who attended the coronation of Richard I, doubtless as the representative of the York congregation, and escaped the London massacre.

It is probable that Josce and Samuel Hoppecole held the land in London on which the chief synagogue was built.