One of Anglo-Jewry's best known communal figures, Judge Israel Finestein, died today. He was 88.

Hull-born Judge Finestein, who retired from the bench as a deputy high court judge and a former crown court judge, was president of the Board of Deputies from 1991-1994 and served on a diverse range of communal bodies, including the Jewish Historical Society.

He had also been a vice president of the World Jewish Congress, and had been active outside the community, chairing the Mental Health Review Tribunal.

Vivian Wineman, the current Board President 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. At the same time all who knew him revelled in his dry wit. The Board, the Jewish community and beyond will all be the poorer for his passing.”