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of a Jewish national home in what was at the time called Palestine.
Manchester became the centre for Zionist support in Britain with Marks and Sieff among those in the city mentored
by Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann. This group of visionary Zionist leaders believed Jews not only had a right to a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland, but the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe made the need even more urgent. It cannot be overstated how important their efforts were alongside other Manchester Zionists in urging the British government to support the Zionist cause.
Forces with pharmaceuticals and helped in producing synthetic rubber. When Weizmann became Israel's president the Sieff Research Institute became part of the Weizmann Institute.
The legacy continued
Upon the rebirth of the State of Israel, Marks & Spencer's directors wanted
their firm to become a model for Israeli commerce. Israel and Rebecca Sieff’s second son, Marcus Sieff, first visited the Mandate of Palestine in 1939 at the age of 16. After serving as a British Army colonel in the War, Marcus was asked by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, to help defend the new state. Sieff accepted the offer to join the Israel Defense Forces in which he advised on transportation and supplies to the Israeli defence ministry.
He even helped coordinate Marks & Spencer goods and finances to support the new state. In fact, in his 1990 book, Management: The Marks and Spencer Way, Sieff suggested one of the fundamental objectives of M&S was to “aid the economic development of Israel.”
Marcus Sieff returned to Britain in 1951 to lead the company’s expanding food
department, but throughout the next few decades Marks & Spencer supported Israeli agriculture and manufacture with both supplies and imports. It wasn’t long before M&S pioneered the latest innovation in food preservation – canned fruit – and you can probably guess where the oranges were sourced!
British-Israeli trade was soon booming because
of M&S. Marcus became chairman in 1972 and served on the board until his death in 2001 as did his son Sir David Sieff. From the mid-sixties to the mid-1990s, M&S held a special place in the heart of the Jewish community.
Simon Marks served as vice-president of the Zionist Federation and in 1918 Israel Sieff was a member of the Zionist Commission which visited the Mandate of Palestine following the signing of the Balfour Declaration. His wife Rebecca meanwhile helped found the Women’s Zionist Organization.
In 1933, Weizmann wanted to provide
a refuge for Jewish scientists forced out of Germany and address the agricultural problems in Palestine. Israel and Rebecca Sieff opened the Daniel Sieff Research Institute in memory of their youngest son. In WW2, the institute provided Allied
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