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'Archetypal mensch' Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Kindertransportee and child refugee advocate, dies at 93
Rabbi Jacobi came to England from the Netherlands having escaped twice from the Nazis in 1939 and then 1940
April 25, 2019 08:52
Rabbi Jacobi came to England from the Netherlands having escaped twice from the Nazis in 1939 and then 1940
April 25, 2019 08:52Tributes have been paid to Kindertransport refugee and Liberal Judaism vice-president, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, who died on Wednesday morning at 93.
“It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Rabbi Harry Jacobi z”l earlier this morning,” Liberal Judaism wrote on social media.
Liberal Judaism’s senior rabbi, Rabbi Danny Rich, recalled how Rabbi Jacobi used his own experiences of twice escaping the Nazis to become a "powerful and lifelong advocate for both Liberal Judaism and those of all faiths and backgrounds still fleeing persecution."
Rabbi Rich said: “I will always remember Harry as my teacher, friend and colleague. Harry was, for me, what being a Liberal Rabbi was all about.
“His spiritual presence has been, and remains a towering one for his family, his communities and the Liberal Jewish movement.”
Michael Newman, of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), also paid tribute to the rabbi, who was born in Berlin in 1925 and lost most of his family in the Holocaust.
Mr Newman said: “We are deeply saddened at the passing of Rabbi Harry Jacobi, who was a stalwart AJR member.
“Harry will be remembered with great fondness for his thoughtful sermons at memorial services and as a passionate educator about the Kindertransport and the Holocaust.”
Rabbi Jacobi came to England from the Netherlands, having escaped Germany in 1939.
He was one of 74 children saved by Righteous Gentile, Gertuide Wijsmuller, whom Yad Vashem later recognised as Righteous Among The Nations, on the last evening before the Dutch capitulation on May 15, 1940.
Once in Britain he was inspired to become a rabbi by a speech given by Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck to the 1949 World Union for Progressive Judaism Conference.
Rabbi Jacobi was ordained as a Liberal rabbi in 1961 and went on to serve Southgate Progressive Synagogue, Wembley and District Liberal Synagogue and the Zurich Progressive community.
In 2015, Liberal synagogues across the country celebrated his 90th birthday with special services and kiddushim.
Dr Edie Friedman, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said he was “the archetypal mensch”.
She added: “He conveyed a real generosity of spirit both on a personal level and in his commitment to justice and fairness to today’s refugees, never forgetting his own refugee past.”
Chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock, said they were "very sorry to hear" of his passing.
Ms Pollock said: "Rabbi Jacobi has spent much of his career working hard to educate about the Holocaust, sharing his experience as a refugee with others, including speaking to schools. He will be sadly missed.”
Steward Spivack, chair of the East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue, expressed his “condolences and prayers” to the Jacobi family.
He described his passing as “the loss of a so valued a member of our community.”
People outside progressive Judaism also paid tribute.
Writing on Facebook, United Synagogue rabbi David Mason wrote: “I know that I am an Orthodox Rabbi in the United Synagogue and Harry worked in the Liberal Movement, differences that cannot be wished away.
"But I had the honour of getting to know him over the past few years.
“What a special man he was who stood up for justice, fairness and compassion... ideals we should all reflect on. He will be sorely missed.”
The funeral will take place at Golders Green Crematorium on Hoop Lane on April 29 at 3pm.
