Tributes for a royal with a ‘great affection for the Jewish community’ 1921 - 2021
COMMUNAL LEADERS have praised Prince Philip’s commitment to public service and recalled his “affection for the Jewish community”.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said he had been “deeply moved” by Prince Philip’s “extraordinary sense of duty” in past personal conversations with the royal.
The chief rabbi recalled the duke’s “affection for the Jewish community in the UK and his connection with Israel, where his mother is buried and which he visited in 1994”.
T h e l a t e P r i n cess Alice was recognised by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations for rescuing a Greek-Jewish family during the war. She was laid to rest on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Her son, the duke, was “a remarkable royal, working well into his 90s” and a role model “for staying active in one’s latter years”, Rabbi Mirvis said.
The Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, meanwhile, hailed his “wartime heroism as an operational Royal Navy officer”.
The veterans group noted his “courage and commitment to his country and to the democratic values that we hold so dear” and his participation in two AJEX parades over the years.
Many paid tribute to Prince Philip’s nationwide youth programme, the Duke
of Edinburgh Award, which has seen 25,000 Jewish children enrolled.
Jewish charity JLGB, which has been involved in the scheme since its inception 65 years ago, said it had been “a rite of passage” for generations of Jewish teenagers.
“In so many encounters across generations that our young award participants and volunteers were honoured to have
with him, he would always instantly recognise those from JLGB and would take extra time to speak with them about their experiences,” the charity said.
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl remembered the duke for his “active duty in the Navy during the Second World War” and the “tens of thousands of engagements which he carried out over six and a half decades
of royal duties”. Jewish Leadership Council chair Jonathan Goldstein highlighted Prince Philip’s devotion to public service and “many happy memories of his engagements with the Jewish community”.
United Synagogue president Michael Goldstein said he had been “a constant for generations of United Synagogue members and their families, the wider
Jewish community and the nation at large. As Jews, we are commanded to leave the world a better place than how we found it.
“Prince Philip’s record of championing good causes and supporting many charities means he has certainly done just that. He earned the affection of our community and the nation and will be sorely missed,” he said.
Liberal Judaism expressed its condolences and shared a prayer by Leicester rabbi Mark Solomon praising his military service, “inspiring” youth award programme and his “dedication to the conservation of nature and the environment”.
Reform Judaism chair Robert Wiltshire spoke of Prince Philip’s “unwavering dedication to the country” while senior S&P Sephardi rabbi Joseph Dweck said he had been “an example to the entire nation of steadfast loyalty, advocacy, patriotism, and responsibility”.
Binyomin Stern, president of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, spoke of his “deep sorrow” at the duke’s death and his “life of committed service and purposeful duty”.
Shomrim’s Stamford Hill branch spoke of “his years of dedicated service”, while Hatzola said it was “deeply saddened” by his death.
The Holocaust Educational Trust praised Prince Philip’s “immeasurable contribution to the life of our country”.
He’s been a constant for generations of United Synagogue members’
He would always instantly recognise those from JLGB’