British Parliament honours South African-born rabbi on retirement

JOE MILLIS AND NICOLA MILTZ

The well-known rabbi retired from his iconic London shul after 25 years, and stepped down from pastoral duties. He was honoured at a reception at the House of Commons.

At his side on the day were his five daughters, all of whom were born in South Africa, and their spouses.

British Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove, formerly Secretary of State for Education, hosted the event, and led the tributes to “a truly wonderful man”. He said Marcus had led the way in “opening the eyes and awakening the conscience of the next generation” through his educational programme.

Marcus, who was awarded an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2015 for his work in Holocaust education, is well-known to a generation of non-Jewish school children for leading more than 200 trips to Auschwitz, describing to 30 000 students the horrors of the Shoah.

The SA Jewish Report tracked him down this week on route to Auschwitz, accompanying a large group of students. He said he may be retired, but his Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) work would continue.

Born and bred in Cape Town, Marcus stepped down from his shul role this month, becoming an emeritus rabbi. He said he would continue leading HET lessons with Auschwitz trips, 20 years after he pioneered the model.

His sister, Ruth Rozowski of Sydenham, Johannesburg, said he visited South Africa whenever he had a chance, and stayed with her each time. “He has strong connections to South Africa, and comes fairly often to visit. He was here in July.”

Marcus was rabbi of Waverley Shul before he and his family made aliyah in 1986. He was instrumental in setting up the Waverley Crisis Centre many years ago.

Dozens of people gathered at the Houses of Parliament to bid farewell to this long-serving senior rabbi.

The reception was attended by Lords Pickles, Howard and Polak; Ian Austin MP; and family and friends from the UK, Israel, the United States and South Africa.

Gove paid warm tribute to Marcus, who said he would divide his time between the UK and Israel.

Gove reiterated the importance of Marcus’s Holocaust education work at a time when, he said, “unfortunately, anti-Semitism has returned to our streets, social media, and on the continent”.

“No one has brought home to the next generation the importance of Holocaust education as Barry has through his work with the Holocaust Educational Trust,” he said.

“He is opening [the] eyes and ears of the next generation by organising visits to Auschwitz and arranging talks in schools by Holocaust survivors.” One of those survivors, Harry Olmer, was among the guests at the reception in the Churchill Room of the House.

Said Gove, “Rabbi Marcus may be retiring, but he is not retiring by nature, and he will ensure that HET’s invaluable work continues.”

Among the HET projects Gove noted was the collaboration with Chelsea Football Club, which has taken more than 140 supporters and staff on a trip to Auschwitz as part of its “Say No To Anti-Semitism” programme.

A clearly emotional Marcus said that it had been a “privilege to engage with pupils and teachers up and down the country”.

When he started working on Holocaust education 20 years ago, some in the community had reservations about the one-day trips to Auschwitz he was arranging. But now, he said, “only yesterday the 200th one-day trip to Auschwitz took place”.

Marcus – who describes himself as an “optimist” – recalled that when he travelled to Northern Ireland for the first time 18 years ago to accompany a school group to Auschwitz, “at Belfast Airport, there were two groups of pupils, one Catholic, the other Protestant, and they didn’t mix”.

“When we came back, at Kraków Airport, they all stood together. This shows what can be done through dialogue.”