A Bnei Akiva-organised service in memory of Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser at Hampstead Garden Synagogue on Sunday was attended by over 500 people.

Board of Deputies president Henry Grunwald was among communal leaders and Israeli representatives at the service, arranged at short notice by BA's Eli Bauernfreund and Joshua Pomerance following the return of the soldiers' bodies to Israel from Lebanon as part of a prisoner-exchange deal.

Mr Grunwald told the congregation: "In this year when we are still celebrating Israel's 60th birthday, it is only right that we should come together today to commemorate the tragic event that began in Israel just over two years ago." Mr Grunwald said that Israel's action demonstrated how it valued the return of even one dead body. He was proud that it had remained true to its principles.

HGS chairman Bernard Taub said that the speeches were "both moving and expressive of the feelings of Jews in Israel and in the diaspora".