Tributes poured in from Britain’s Jewish community Monday after the country’s first female Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, died aged 87.
The former Conservative Premier and Member of Parliament for the Jewish constituency of Finchley in North London died peacefully in her sleep after suffering a stroke. She had been the subject of reports of bad health for the last decade.
Responding to news of her death, Vivian Wineman, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews paid tribute to Thatcher as a “friend to the Jewish people and Israel”.
Invoking the little-told story of how the British statesman’s family took in a young Austrian Jewish refugee from Nazism during the late 1930s, he added that “she was always extremely supportive and admiring of the ethos of the British Jewish community”.
Her support for the community continued throughout her career, with the politician at one time claiming a 25% Jewish cabinet at one point during her 11-year reign at the top of British politics.
The longest serving British Premier to date, who was responsible for promoting the Emeritus British Chiif Rabbi Lord Jakobovits to the House of Lords, Britain’s highest political chamber, will be granted a full ceremonial funeral to mirror that of the only other British politician to have claimed such an honour, WWII-era leader Winston Churchill.
Issuing a statement of his own, the outgoing British Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks heralded the notoriously anti state interventionist former leader Thatcher as “a giant who had a transformative impact on Britain”.
Paying tribute to the rare imprint she left on British life, he said that “she was loved and admired by many in the Jewish community who will miss her deeply”.
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences on learning of her death as he commended her life “of principle, of determination of conviction, of strength”, hailing her as “a woman of greatness”. “She was a staunch friend of Israel and the Jewish people. She inspired a generation of political leaders,” he added,
Continuing the tributes, President Shimon Peres praised her “vision”. "Baroness Thatcher was an exceptional leader, a colleague in the international arena and a friend for me personally. She served as an inspiration for other leaders, as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain she broke new ground. She showed how far a person can go with strength of character, determination and a clear vision,” said the Israeli leader.
"She was a true and dedicated friend of Israel, who stood with us in times of crisis and used her influence to help us in trying to make peace. During our negotiations with Jordan in the late 1980s, she stood as a mediator and a source of wisdom for me and the King of Jordan," Peres added.
In a condolence letter to Thatcher’s two children who survive her, Israel’s ambassador to the UK Daniel Taub wrote: "For her strong support for Israel, for the way in which she epitomised the values of freedom and democracy that our two countries hold so dear, and in memory of her remarkable life, we mourn with you and the British people on this solemn day."