As Eric Pickles, he has been one of the strongest supporters of the Jewish community and Israel. And after being sworn into the House of Lords on Monday, the now Lord Pickles intends to continue his warmest of relationships with British Jewry.
At a packed Westminster reception hosted by the Conservative Friends of Israel following his investiture, parliamentary colleagues past and present praised the efforts of the former MP for Brentwood and Ongar.
Lord Pickles recalled his rise up the political ladder and referred to Prince William's visit to Israel.
He said: “Israel is a very special place for me. It’s wonderful that the Duke of Cambridge is visiting."
The 66-year-old, who left the Commons last year, has been a frequent visitor to Israel during his parliamentary career.
As Communities Secretary, he regularly spoke at synagogues and will continue as the Prime Minister's special envoy on post-Holocaust issues.
So close has his relationship with the community been, the JC speculated in 2015 that he was "the Tories' de facto Minister for Jews".
Lord Polak, CFI president, cited a 1993 visit to Israel with a group of “young parliamentarians" as one of his earliest interactions with the Yorkshireman.
He recalled how an official from the Israeli Foreign Ministry had expressed concern two days into the trip because one of the MPs in the delegation had apparently been more interested in focusing on his “little folding keyboard” than he had in the speakers the group had met.
“I said ‘let me tell you how wrong you are’," said Lord Polak of his exchange with the Israeli official. “Eric was taking notes from all of those meetings – and I bet you he still has those notes to this day. That’s Eric – he was always ahead of his time.”
In a sign of Lord Pickles's popularity across the political spectrum, his co-chair on the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, Ed Balls - the former Labour Shadow Chancellor - attended the reception and made what he admitted was his debut speech at a CFI event.
Mr Balls said: “When you think of the way parties are moving to the extremes, the rejection of consensus, I think it is important that we double our efforts to learn the lessons of the past.
“That’s why it was really important for David Cameron, who set up the Holocaust Commission, to appoint Sir Eric to be the UK’s adviser against antisemitism.
“It’s why it’s important that Theresa May decided we would locate the memorial next to Parliament – and why I was honoured to join Sir Eric as co-chair at a time when consensus is dangerously unpopular.
“The symbolism of a former Labour and Conservative minister coming together to champion this cause is an important thing to do.”
In a further sign of Lord Pickles's popularity, Lord Polak read congratulatory messages from Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
