The competition is part of their celebrations of 350 years since Oliver Cromwell readmitted Jewish people to Britain. Whilst there were Jews in Britain in the Medieval period they were thrown out of the country in 1290, and could only live here covertly until Cromwell's change of law.

Museum director Rickie Burman says "1656 can be seen as a landmark in the development of multicultural British society”. The competition is being run in collaboration with other London-based cultural groups such as Black Cultural Archives, Eastside Community Heritage, London Irish Women's Centre, Three Faiths Forum and ICONS - a website that asks people to vote for objects that define Britishness.

Prizes include immortalisation on the walls of the Jewish Museum as part of their autumn multimedia Identities exhibition, as well as £500 of photographic equipment.