The King held talks with the Chief Rabbi in a private audience at Buckingham Palace today after expressing concern about “barbaric acts of terror” in Israel.
Charles welcomed Sir Ephraim Mirvis to the royal residence of London this afternoon, where he met in the King’s audience chamber to discuss the horrors of the Hamas attacks.
It follows Charles’ condemnation of Hamas in a statement yesterday, with royal aides saying the monarch is being actively kept informed of developments in the region.
Palace sources said Charles today personally expressed his deep care and concern for the Jewish community in Britain, which is suffering from grief, fear and anxiety.
The king, 74, and Sir Ephraim, 67, are also understood to have discussed ways to support interfaith harmony in Britain during troubling and dangerous times, and the continued hope that a path to peace can be found internationally.
The Chief Rabbi later thanked Charles for his words of support for the Jewish community.
King Charles II receives Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis at Buckingham Palace in London today
King Charles III and Sir Ephraim Mirvis will speak about the conflict at Buckingham Palace today
After the meeting, Sir Ephraim posted on his deep concern and his support for the Jewish community.
‘His words of comfort and solidarity give us strength in these dark times.’
The King also spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog yesterday and offered his thoughts and prayers to all those suffering.
At least 100 people – reservists and active-duty Israeli army soldiers – are believed to have traveled to Israel from Britain to serve in the Israeli army as it wages a retaliatory campaign against Hamas.
Concerns about the safety of British citizens in the region remain high as the war, sparked by a bloody and large-scale Hamas attack on Israel last weekend, has already claimed at least 2,600 lives.
The government has organized flights to fly British nationals out of Israel, with the first flight due to depart Tel Aviv today.
Charles, head of the Church of England, greeted the chief rabbi in the king’s audience chamber at the palace.
The couple looked solemn as they stood side by side, with the king making gestures as he welcomed Sir Ephraim to the gathering amid difficult times.
The pair have previously met through Charles’ work as Prince of Wales on interfaith tolerance, and Sir Ephraim took part in the king’s coronation in May, greeting him alongside religious leaders at the end of the service.
Charles visits the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem during a royal visit on January 24, 2020
William stands on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City in Jerusalem on June 28, 2018
Sir Ephraim is the eleventh Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth since the office was introduced in 1704.
He is traditionally seen as the figurehead of British Jews, but is only an official representative of the United Synagogue, the largest wing of Orthodox Judaism in Britain.
He was installed in September 2013 at a ceremony attended by Charles when he was Prince of Wales, the first time a member of the royal family had attended.
Meanwhile, following the attacks on Israel, Charles has also spoken to King Abdullah of Jordan, whose country shares a border with the West Bank and is home to a large number of Palestinian refugees.
King Abdullah has sought to de-escalate the situation. Charles, who has long campaigned for interfaith tolerance as Prince of Wales, is said to continue to look for ways to do so amid the growing conflict.
Yesterday a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: ‘This is a situation that His Majesty is deeply concerned about and has asked to be kept actively informed.
“His thoughts and prayers are with all those who are suffering, especially those who have lost loved ones, but also those who are actively involved at this time.”
A man screams outside a burning collapsed building after the Israeli bombardment of Gaza City
An Israeli army self-propelled howitzer fires bullets near the Gaza border in southern Israel
He added: “His Majesty is appalled by and condemns the barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel.”
As Prince of Wales, Charles conducted his first official tour of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2020.
It was the highest-level visit by a member of the monarchy to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
He visited the grave of his grandmother Princess Alice, who was famous for providing shelter to Jewish people during World War II in Nazi-occupied Athens.
Her courage was recognized by Israel, which posthumously awarded her the title of Righteous Among the Nations in 1993.
The princess – who was the mother of Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh – is buried in the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem.
Prince William also traveled there in 2018 and he and Kate have expressed their hope for peace in the future.
Kensington Palace yesterday shared William and Kate’s reaction to the attacks, saying: ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales are deeply saddened by the devastating events that have occurred in recent days.
“The horrors caused by Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel are terrible; they condemn them utterly.”
They added that the couple “carried all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds.”
The spokesperson added: “Those the Prince of Wales met in 2018 largely shared a common hope: that of a better future.
“In the midst of such terrible suffering, the prince and princess continue to share that hope without reservation.”
They also expressed condolences for both Israelis and Palestinians, with the spokesperson saying: “As Israel exercises its right to self-defense, all Israelis and Palestinians will be haunted by grief, fear and anger for some time to come.”
William separately met both then-Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas five years ago.
He was urged by Mr Rivlin to deliver a ‘message of peace’ to Mr Abbas to encourage him to take the ‘first step’ to end the ‘tragedy’ between their peoples .
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have condemned “all acts of terrorism and cruelty” and pledged to support efforts to send urgent aid to the region during the war.
Entitled ‘With Heavy Hearts’, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said in a statement on their Archewell Foundation website that they support action to ‘help all innocent victims of this unconscionable level of human suffering’.
The statement read: ‘At the Archewell Foundation, we, together with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stand against all acts of terrorism and brutality.
“We support our partners and organizations on the front lines in Israel to provide the urgent assistance needed, and to help all innocent victims of this unconscionable level of human suffering.”
