Barry Marcus

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Rabbi
Barry Marcus
MBE
Personal
Born
Barry Marcus

(1949-10-28) 28 October 1949 (age 74)
Cape Town, South Africa
ReligionJudaism
OccupationHolocaust educator, former Rabbi of Central London Synagogue
SynagogueCentral Synagogue, Great Portland Street
YeshivaSmicha (ordination) from Beth Midrash l’Rabbanim, Johannesburg, South Africa
ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom

Rabbi Barry Marcus MBE [1] (born 28 October 1949) is a South African rabbi. He retired as senior minister of Central Synagogue, Great Portland Street in London in 2018 after serving the congregation for over 23 years.[2][3] He is notable for his rabbinical and pastoral duties in the UK, Israel and South Africa.[4]

In 2015 he was awarded MBE in the New Year Honours for services to Holocaust Education.[5]

Background[edit]

Marcus was born in Cape Town, South Africa on 28 October 1949 and raised in Vredehoek, a residential suburb at the foot of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak.[6] He attended Herzlia School, a local Jewish school.[6] He served Woodstock Shul where his grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Dovid Grawitzky had also served as Rabbi from 1929 to 1944.[6] He then moved to Rondebosch shul and Camps Bay Shul.[6] He was drafted into the South African Defence Force in 1968 as part of the compulsory military service for white South African men under apartheid.[6] Afterwards he was awarded a scholarship at Bar Ilan University in Israel where he spent four years. He returned to Cape Town to teach Hebrew at Herzlia School and Arthur's Road Shul in Sea Point.[6] In 1975 he accepted an invitation from South Africa's Chief Rabbi Bernard Casper to be his assistant and youth rabbi in Johannesburg. He also began lecturing in Hebrew at Wits University in the city.[6] In 1981 vandals sprayed an antisemitic Nazi slogan on the wall of his home in Waverley.[6] He served as Rabbi to Waverley Hebrew Congregation, one of the largest Jewish communities in Johannesburg. Before becoming the Rabbi of the Central Synagogue he served as a rabbi in Israel.[7]

Controversy[edit]

In 2015 Rabbi Marcus spoke out in defence of John Galliano,[8] fashion designer who was found guilty of racism and antisemitic abuse in 2011.[9]

Following a National Crime Agency investigation beginning in October 2022 into money from the charities Dalaid and the Schwarzschild Foundation being held in Marcus' personal bank accounts, Marcus agreed in January 2024 to return £2.35 million to the two organisations.[10]

Holocaust education[edit]

Since November 2008 Rabbi Marcus has been organising educational trips to Auschwitz together with the Holocaust Educational Trust.[11]

Times religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill films a visit to Auschwitz in November 2008, hosted by Rabbi Barry Marcus and the Holocaust Education Trust, of nine faith leaders headed by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks and Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. Other faiths represented were Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Muslim, Zoroastrian.

Awards and notable appointments[edit]

In 2014, Rabbi Marcus was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for Holocaust education and for fostering dialogue and building bridges with Poland.[12] He is a member of advisory board of Lithuanian Jewish Heritage Project.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Rabbi Marcus: Serves as Rabbi to Central Synagogue, London and formerly Rabbi to Northwood Community". 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  2. ^ "The Central Synagogue – a brief history". The Central Synagogue. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ^ "The Central line on Rabbi Barry Marcus: 'You will be sorely missed'". The Jewish Chronicle. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Barry Marcus MBE - Central Synagogue". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Rabbi Marcus gets MBE for Shoah education". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Marcus, Barry (15 September 2019). "Introduction". My Story (Rabbi Barry Marcus). Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781398101555. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  7. ^ "London Calling: England's Bustling and Historic Central Synagogue". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Rabbi who came to defence of John Galliano speaks out". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  9. ^ "John Galliano found guilty of racist and antisemitic abuse". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  10. ^ Vinter, Robyn (5 April 2024). "Rabbi to return £2.35m to charities after investigation by National Crime Agency". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Pupils learn from death camp visit". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  12. ^ "London rabbi to receive prestigious Polish award". Times of Israel. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017. A London rabbi who has taken 22,000 schoolchildren to Auschwitz-Birkenau to learn the horrors of the Holocaust is to receive one of Poland's most prestigious awards.
  13. ^ "LJHP Advisory Board". 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
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