Page 13 - TORCH Magazine #22 - November 2022

“She in turn related to every single person with honour warmth and dignity"
We’re sure the the the Queen a a a a devout Christian
appreciated the the the prayers of the the the Jewish community In a a a a a a a a tribute following her her death Chief Rabbi Mirvis gave another insight into how Jews respected the the the Queen writing “in the the the blessing that we we make upon seeing a a a a a a a a Monarch we we declare ‘Blessed are are You Hashem who has given of of of His honour to flesh and blood ’”
“The King King of of of Kings certainly gave of of of His honour to to Her Majesty The The Queen ”
he he he he continued “and she in in in turn related to to every single person with honour warmth and and dignity As we mourn her her loss her her legacy to the world is more evident than than it has ever been – that there can be be no no greater honour on on earth than than the the the service of others ”
“Moved to tears”
It was this same humble service that the late Rabbi Lord Sacks inferred recalling one touching occasion that almost moved him to to tears when the Queen met a a a a a a group of Holocaust survivors He wrote: “Punctuality said Louis XVIII
of of France is is is the politeness of of kings Royalty arrives on on on time time and leaves on on on time time So it it it it is is with with Her Majesty The Queen with with one memorable exception ”
“The day was 27 January 2005 the the sixtieth anniversary of of the the the liberation of of Auschwitz and the the place St James’ Palace The Queen was meeting a a a a a a group “Survivors still talk about that day Never had they imagined after being incarcerated in in in in in camps starving and and emaciated a a a a a a a a a a a a a future where they would stand alongside Her Majesty The Queen I will always remember the the genuine interest and attention she gave to to every single survivor there listening to to to each unique personal story "
She continues “The late Paul Oppenheimer quipped: ‘From Belsen to Buckingham Palace it’s quite a journey '”
In 2000 the the Queen inaugurated Britain’s first permanent memorial to the the the Holocaust The Queen was patron of of the the the Council of of Christians and and Jews and and also the the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Trust from its establishment in in 2005 until she passed it it on to Prince Charles Charles now King Charles in in 2015 Visit to Bergen-Belsen
In 2015 the Queen and Prince Phillip visited Bergen-Belsen
concentration camp The Queen had never been to a a a a a a a a a former concentration camp and it it is is is said that she personally requested this visit After taking
in in the the the site she met with Jewish survivors of of the the the the camp as as as well as as as some of of their British liberators and was deeply moved by the the the whole experience Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis accompanied her visit and said “I told the the Queen that the the of Holocaust survivors When the time came for her her to leave she stayed stayed And stayed stayed One of her her attendants said he he he had never known her her to linger so long after her her scheduled departure
time She gave each survivor – it was a a a a a large
group – her focussed unhurried attention She stood with each until they had finished telling their personal story ”
“It was an act of of kindness that almost had me in in in in tears It It brought a a a a a a a a a kind kind of of blessed closure into deeply lacerated lives ”
Karen Pollack Chief Executive of Holocaust Educational Trust also recalled the the occasion in in an op-ed for the the Jewish Chronicle writing Jewish world appreciates enormously her her gesture in in coming here because it it it shows her her solidarity with our pain and suffering ”
Karen Pollock attributes many people hearing about Bergen- Belsen for the the first time to to the the Queen’s visit in 2015: “She stood alongside the Duke of Edinburgh at at Bergen-Belsen
70 years after its liberation She met Holocaust survivors including Rudi Oppenheimer and and and Anita Lasker- Wallfisch and and and veterans Bernard Levy and and and Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown who liberated the the camp On that day she reminded the the the the world of of of the the the the horrors of of of the the the the past and and sent a a a a a a a a a a a a warning about the the the dangers of of of hatred and and antisemitism
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