Judge Israel Finestein, one of the outstanding figures of the Anglo-Jewish community in the second half of the 20th century, died on Monday. He was 88.

Judge Finestein, who retired from the bench as a deputy high court judge and a former crown court judge, had been president of the Board of Deputies from 1991 to 1994 and served on a diverse range of communal bodies. He had also been active outside the community, chairing the Mental Health Review Tribunal. He had also been a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress.

Board president Vivian Wineman said: “His Honour Judge Israel Finestein QC was a man of towering intellect and deep humanity. His scholarship was extraordinary and had he not decided to devote his considerable talents to the law, he would no doubt have made an enormous impact on the world of academia.

“All those who knew him revelled in his dry wit. The Board, the Jewish community and beyond will all be the poorer for his passing.”