One of the community’s best-known Israel activists, Sir Trevor Chinn, has joined the board of the UK branch of the New Israel Fund.

Sir Trevor, who is a joint president of the UJIA, trustee of the Jewish Leadership Council and executive member of Bicom, said that NIF symbolised his “deep commitment to Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people and to social justice for all its citizens”.

NIF UK chairman Nicholas Saphir welcomed Sir Trevor’s arrival at a time when “British Jewry is increasingly recognising the importance of our work at this critical time in the formation of Israel’s future”.

NIF’s activities in Israel have not escaped controversy, with NGO Monitor claiming that it has funded organisations which “reject the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish democratic state”.

But its support for human rights, religious pluralism and social cohesion has attracted growing numbers here with a record 450 attending the UK group’s annual dinner last year in honour of Amos Oz.

A previous recipient’s of NIF UK’s human rights award, Orthodox Rabbi Shay Piron, entered the Knessset this year as an MKs for Yair Lapid’s new Yesh Atid party.