I was privileged to be invited by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to a reception to celebrate the Jewish Community of the United Kingdom given at Buckingham Palace on 5th December 2019. The guests were invited from organisations around the country with a focus on those who, through their community work and volunteering efforts, make a massive contribution to their communities.
His Royal Highness, a longstanding supporter of minority communities, paid tribute in his speech, saying: “The connection between the Crown and our Jewish Community is something special and precious. I say this from a particular and personal perspective because I have grown up being deeply touched by the fact that British synagogues have, for centuries, remembered my Family in your weekly prayers. And as you remember my Family, so we too remember and celebrate you. I am thinking not just of the most prominent members of our Jewish community who, through the ages, have literally transformed this country for the better. I am thinking also, crucially, of those who are not household names, but who are the cornerstones of their own local communities. They are the people who, I am delighted to say, make up the larger part of this evening’s guest list and to whom I want to offer particular gratitude.”
Having never had the honour to visit Buckingham Palace before, I was so excited to be part of this momentous event, having been invited in my capacity as Treasurer of University Jewish Chaplaincy an organisation whose chaplains and chaplaincy couples are there for Jewish students of all backgrounds and affiliations. Certainly, an evening never to be forgotten, especially as Golden Rule Lodge was represented by both myself and W Bro Henry Grunwald PAG.Reg.
Julian Lewis SLGR