Holocaust survivor and community macher Rudi Leavor dies aged 95 - The Jewish Chronicle

Tributes have been pouring in for survivor Rudi Leavor who died on Tuesday at the age of 95. His family confirmed the news in a statement to the Telegraph and Argus. “It is with profound regret that I have to advise you that we lost our dear father in the early hours of this morning. He died peacefully in his sleep. "He was the greatest husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather and great grandfather ever,” they said. The Berlin-born refugee fled Nazi Germany, settling in west Yorkshire with his parents and younger sister Winnie in 1937 at the age of 11. His parents had been arrested by the Gestapo the previous year but were released and managed to obtain visas to come to safety in England. Upon his arrival, Mr Leavor enrolled in a local grammar school and after training as a dentist opened his own practice. He became chairman of Bradford Synagogue in 1975. He was in 2017 recognised by the Queen with a BEM for his services to the Jewish community and interfaith relations in Bradford. Under his leadership, the shul went on to forge close links with local faith communities and draw media coverage on the issue over the years. The Board of Deputies paid tribute to the “steadfast champion of interfaith relations” on Tuesday. The Association of Jewish Refugees said its member - whose written testimony remains on its website - would be “sorely missed.” Bradford’s Peace Museum praised Mr Leavor’s “wonderful interfaith work” while the city’s cathedral called him a “dear friend and advocate.” Mr Leavor and his late wife Marianne had four children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.