Sadness at Death of Prince Philip

At Christian Friends of Israel UK, we are saddened to hear of the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Queen and the Royal Family.

May our Father in Heaven, the God of all comfort, draw very close to the whole family at this sad time.

Coming just one day after Yom HaShoah, when Jews around the world remembered those who lost their lives in the Holocaust, we are also mindful of the fact that Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, is recognised as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ by Israel`s Holocaust memorial institution, Yad Vashem, because of her actions in sheltering Jewish refugees during the Second World War.

In 1994, Prince Philip broke what had been seen as an unofficial boycott of Israel by the British monarchy to personally accept the honour Yad Vashem bestowed on his mother. He said at the time:

“The Holocaust was the most horrific event in all Jewish history,
and it will remain in the memory of all future generations.
It is, therefore, a very generous gesture that also remembered
here are the many millions of non-Jews, like my mother,
who shared in your pain and anguish and did what they could
in small ways to alleviate the horror.”

This is just one of many reasons that have prompted Jewish communities to extend their condolences to the Royal Family and express the hope that Prince Philip will be remembered for the good he has done during a life ‘spent in public service.’

The UK’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, has noted Prince Philip’s “affection for the Jewish community in the UK and his connection with Israel, where his mother is buried and which he visited in 1994.”

Updated 12th April 2021