Former Prime Minister David Cameron was presented with the Tree of Life award from “old friends” at the Jewish Community Council (JCC) in Stamford Hill on Wednesday.
Mr Cameron also shared in a kosher meal with community leaders and spoke about the JCC going “above and beyond” in their inter-community work.
Rabbi Levi Schapiro, who first met Mr Cameron in 2010 as part of the JCC’s effort to meet with officials on behalf of issues important to the community, told the JC: “It was a great pleasure to have Mr Cameron come and be with all of our community leaders, of whom he was so complimentary.”
Rabbi Schapiro told the JC that Mr Cameron worked closely with the wider Jewish community on a broad range of issues that affected them during his tenure in 10 Downing Street, from amendments to a housing bill to allowing coroners to release bodies earlier to accommodate the Chasidic community.
“He said he felt at home amongst us, and we sat around as old friends do, going through all the good times and everything we did together.
“Mr Cameron said he was very impressed to see how far the community had come, and to see us as a thriving, vibrant, and growing Chasidic community,” Rabbi Schapiro said.
Cameron JCC
David Cameron with JCC leaders in Stamford Hill, March 1, 2023
Mr Cameron was also presented with a “Tree of Life” award by Rabbi Schapiro, which recognises “outstanding individuals to who the community owe genuine recognition and thanks.”
Rabbi Schapiro said: “The Tree of Life award is a blessing from senior rabbis in the community to those deserving, and Mr Cameron is certainly that.”
Posting to Twitter, Mr Cameron thanked the JCC “for such a generous and warm welcome and for presenting me with the Tree of Life Award, which is a great honour. It was inspiring to hear about your commitment to the local community and wider engagement work.
“You continue to have my wholehearted support.”
Cameron JCC
David Cameron receiving the Tree of Life award, March 1, 2023
Thank you @jccnorthlondon for such a generous & warm welcome & for presenting me with the Tree of Life Award, which is a great honour. It was inspiring to hear about your commitment to the local community & wider engagement work. You continue to have my wholehearted support. https://t.co/bmjuPCUFKv
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 2, 2023
Mr Cameron was accompanied on the day by Lord Stuart Polak, former director and honorary president of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI).
Mr Cameron also took a “personal, behind the scenes” tour of Hatzola ambulance service where he witnessed the altruism of the many volunteers with families “willing to drop everything and go and save someone’s life,” Rabbi Schapiro said.
He added: “Mr Cameron said Hatzola went above and beyond to exemplify his ‘big society’ political legacy, where different communities come to the aid and support of each other.”
Hatzola is a Jewish community-funded and volunteer-run ambulance service that responds to medical emergencies within any North and East London community at no cost to the caller.
On Twitter, Mr Cameron said he was “delighted” to visit Hatzola and to “hear about your fantastic work across North and East London, supporting our emergency services and providing vital medical assistance to the community.”
It was a pleasure to welcome our latest visitor to our HQ. @David_Cameron Former Prime Minister spoke to our volunteers and saw our life saving work in action.
— Hatzola (@Hatzola) March 1, 2023
Thanks for visiting. pic.twitter.com/BcpO0Le0uf
Rabbi Schapiro said: “[Mr Cameron] has always been a staunch supporter of the Jewish community and of Israel, and is proud to do so, and we are immensely grateful to him for it.”
Made up by a diverse group of Jewish leaders from different Orthodox communities, the Jewish Community Council is a collective representative body that oversees a wide range of issues and services affecting the UK’s Chasidic community. The JCC also interacts with politicians on the local and state level on behalf of the 7000 families it represents.
“That is the strength of the JCC,” Rabbi Schapiro said, “it brings together myriad people of all ages in the interest of helping people in need.”
