THE COMMONWEALTH JEWISH COUNCIL MOURNS THE PASSING OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

The Commonwealth Jewish Council received the news of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing
with deep sadness and a real sense of loss.

Her commitment to the Commonwealth has been widely commented on and it was clearly a central
part of her life and service, giving her an opportunity to demonstrate on the widest possible
international stage the deep decency and steadfastness of her character from which so many world
leaders could learn. Further, in keeping with the ideal biblical monarch, she felt herself subject to the
law and always comported herself with humility and modesty. These are not the common features
of contemporary celebrity, but she showed and lived a different way of duty, fidelity and
consistency.

CJC President, Lord Mendelsohn received the news with the following remarks: ‘Her Majesty was
quite possibly the most famous woman on Earth, viewed with great affection in the 56
Commonwealth countries which are as diverse as Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Kenya or
Canada. It is some measure of the respect felt for her that when she asked in 2018 that her son, then
Prince Charles, succeed her in due course as Head of the Commonwealth, all the Heads of State
readily agreed. It has often been said that the measure of a leader is the extent to which they plan
successfully for their succession and in this as in so many other ways, the Queen was exemplary. Her
passing will reverberate through the country and the Commonwealth in so many ways that we have
hardly thought of yet.’

Clive Lawton, CJC’s Chief Executive added, ‘From the CJC’s earliest days, we have been confident of
the Royal Family’s goodwill. From the glittering reception Her Majesty hosted in St James’s Palace
back in the 1980s to the prefatory remarks that Prince Charles provided to our recent webinar on
Faith in the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Jewish Council has felt confident that our unique
role in the Commonwealth, as the only organisation consistently lobbying for the role of religious
communities in civil society and its concerns, would chime deeply with the Queen, whose evident
deep, quiet and sustaining Christian faith was so clearly a critically important lens through which she
saw the world. Her passing at so challenging a moment in world affairs has cast a long shadow. This
is for all of us a once in a lifetime loss.’

All at the CJC send their condolences to the Queen’s family and wish them long life.