Stephen Fry knighted, other British Jews honored by king
Comedian and presenter named in King’s New Years Honour List for his work at mental health charity; others get awards for Holocaust education and other public service
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Stephen Fry, the British Jewish celebrity comedian known for his decades in acting and broadcast, was among those handed honorary titles in King Charles III’s New Year Honours List.
Fry, 67, was knighted for his work as president of MIND, a mental health charity, according to the official government announcement naming all those on the list Sunday.
Fry said he was “startled and enchanted” to receive the honor for his work raising awareness about mental health and the environment. The author of several books in addition to his screen work, he is also a supporter of the conservation group Fauna and Flora International.
“I think of my childhood, and my dreadful unhappiness and misery and stupidity, and everything that led to so many failures as a child,” he said. “And for my parents, really, what a disaster. I mean every time the phone rang, they thought, ‘Oh, God, what has Stephen done now?’ It was a sort of joke in the family.”
Fry’s mother Marianne was the daughter of Hungarian Jewish immigrants to Britain. The family lost relatives in Auschwitz, the Jewish News reported.
A number of other Jewish individuals were honored for their public service, including some for their work in Holocaust education.
Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is to be Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath.
“I am so delighted to be recognized for public service, which is grounded in the Jewish values of my family,” she said in a statement reported by the Jewish News. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the country and citizens who gave my parents a place to build a happy home.”
Holocaust survivor Dr. Alfred Garwood was made a Member of the British Empire, as were Eleanor Angel and Frank Harding, recently retired trustees of the Association of Jewish Refugees.
Michael Livingston, a Jewish civil servant in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, received an Order of the British Empire.
Livingston was honored for his work in public services and Holocaust education.
“I am beyond proud that my citation first recognizes my service to Holocaust education — by ensuring tens of thousands of civil servants have commemorated the Holocaust over the past decade,” he said according to the report.
Join us in congratulating our Fellow @CarrGilly (2006) on being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Holocaust research & education in the #NewYearHonours list. Read more: https://t.co/W3UjT0HtXq @UCamArchaeology @Cambridge_ICE
????: @TheIHRA pic.twitter.com/W4ufHG7ZY2
— St Catharine's College (@Catz_Cambridge) December 30, 2024
Other OBEs were awarded to Professor Gilly Carr, Holocaust expert professor of Conflict Archaeology and Holocaust Heritage, and Dr. Toby Simpson, director of the Wiener Holocaust Library.
“I am absolutely thrilled for my research and teaching to be recognized in this way,” Carr said. “I’ve been working hard on behalf of victims of Nazism and the Holocaust for 15 years, and for this to be seen as nationally important and worthwhile encourages me to continue my work with vigor.”
“This honor is… very special for me personally,” Simpson said. “My hope is that national recognition will play a small part in making the Library still better known and cherished.”
There was also a British Israeli honored in the New Year’s list. Interfaith consultant and former Council of Christians and Jews CEO Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko received an OBE.
“I am thankful to all colleagues and organizations that have placed their trust in me to do this work,” she said to the outlet. “I am immensely proud to accept this honor as a British Jew and a Jewish Israeli.”
The moment I bumped into @noathebird together with Mira Awad (Israeli board member @Abraham_Ints ) at the Residence of the President of Israel pic.twitter.com/Ugl4lE81gt
— ????????Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko OBE (@LizHSawczenko) May 17, 2022
Another MBE went to Amanda Delew, the northern director of the Community Security Trust, for her services to the Jewish community.
“What an absolute privilege to have been recognized for the many years of hard work and dedication, both for me and the incredible organization I have the honor to work for,” she said.
“This is especially the case given the level of antisemitism across the UK since October 7,” she added, referring to the devastating attack last year on Israel led by the Palestinian terror group Hamas. The ongoing war has been accompanied by a global spike in antisemitism.
Last year, Fry spoke out against the rise in antisemitism surrounding the war, drawing a torrent of online trolling and backlash.
There were also MBEs for James Gurd, recently retired executive director at Conservative Friends of Israel, a position he held for 15 years, and for Mike Katz, national chair of the Jewish Labour Movement.
“After 15 years of working to strengthen the UK-Israel relationship and challenge anti-Jewish racism, it is an incredible honor to be recognized in this way,” Gurd said.
Katz said the honor was “recognition of all the work we in JLM collectively did over the difficult years in the Labour Party tackling antisemitism under Corbyn and helping make it electable again under Starmer.”
The Times of Israel Community.