The millions of Jews scattered throughout the British Empire and dominions joined today in mourning the death of King George.
Dowager Queen Mary thanked the Jews of the British Empire for their condolences on the death of King George.
Replying to a telegram sent her by Dr. Joseph H. Hertz, chief rabbi of the British Empire, in the name of the Jewish communities of the Empire, Queen Mary stated:
“I deeply appreciate your kind message of sympathy in my great loss. Please convey my sincere thanks to all your communities.”
Statements of condolence issued by Jewish leaders emphasized that King George had always shown sympathy about the fate of the Jewish people and that during his reign Jews had been accorded the highest positions of honor and trust.
The World Zionist Executive and the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Palestine sent a message to Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace declaring that in behalf of the agency and the Zionists of the world “in deep and respectful sympathy we join with all the people of his empire in sharing your sorrow over the irreparable loss.”
Leonard Montefiore, president of the Anglo-Jewish Association, stated to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:
“Among the many millions who mourn the death of His Majesty are numbered his subjects of the Jewish faith. They cherish a deep loyalty to the British throne as a symbol of justice and fair play.”
The message added: “They are inspired with abiding affection for the man who has occupied it these twenty-five years past with so much dignity and devotion to his heavy and responsible task.
“In every Jewish home there is mourning and sorrow for the man to whose heart, we felt, the fortunes of even his humblest subjects, their families and their children were very near.”
A message from Neville Laski, president of the Board of British Jewish Deputies, said:
“In common with their fellow-citizens of all creeds throughout the Empire, his Jewish subjects grieve the loss of the monarch who, in his public and family life, embodied for them the pattern of all the virtues. Our gratitude to him is undying and his memory will ever be cherished.”
Dr. Nahum Sokolow, honorary president of the World Zionist Organization, stated:
“World Jewry is deeply grieved over the death of the beloved monarch, whose blessed and sacred memory will go down in our history as a new Cyrus the Great. He lived to make others happy. The Jewish people owe him lasting gratitude. Justice to the Jew in Great Britain and the Jewish national home will forever be coupled with his cherished name.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
