Marie Sarah van der Zyl (née Kaye; born November 1965) is the 48th president of the

Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...

. When she was elected in May 2018, she was only the second female president in the 258-year history of the organisation. She was re-elected in May 2021.

Early life and career

She was born in the

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...

, the daughter of Barry Kaye, who was in tailoring, and his wife Szusanne, a beautician, and grew up in

South Woodford South Woodford is an area of East London, east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Woodford Green to the north, Walthamstow to the west, Snaresbrook and Wanstead to the south and Redbridge, London, Redbridge to t ...

, London, where she attended the local

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is r ...

. She took a law degree at Liverpool Polytechnic (now

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

). Specialising in employment law, she is a partner at Ince in London.

Board of Deputies of British Jews

Van der Zyl was initially a Deputy for the

Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade The JLGB (Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade) is a national Jewish Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation based in and primarily serving the United Kingdom. The UK's oldest Jewish youth movement, it was founded in 1895 as the J ...

. She took office as President on 1 June 2018, succeeding Jonathan Arkush, who did not seek re-election. She is the second ever woman and fourth lawyer in a row to hold the role. Her visits to her grandparents gave her, she says, "a great passion for Israel" and she believes that the Board exists "to promote a sympathetic understanding of Israel." She has pledged to "defend Israel’s legitimacy and its centrality to Jewish identity". She is a self-described "fighter" and takes as a compliment the comparison that "the only difference between me and a Rottweiler is that a Rottweiler eventually lets go". In 2018, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'' ranked her as the 40th most influential Jew of that year. Van der Zyl was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to faith and integration.

Other roles

Van der Zyl is an associate member of Mill Hill United Synagogue and has been a member of the management board of

West London Synagogue The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS ( he, ק"ק שער ציון, ''Kahal Kadosh Sha'ar Tziyon'', "Holy Congregation Gate of Zion"), is a synagogue and congregation, affiliated to Reform Judaism, near Marble Arch in centr ...

. She is a trustee of the

Jewish Leadership Council The Jewish Leadership Council (previously known as the Jewish Community Leadership Council) is an organisation in the United Kingdom, founded in 2003, whose declared aim is to forward the interests of the organised Jewish community in Britain. ...

Personal life

Marie van der Zyl lives in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

, London. She has two daughters with her first husband, Darell van der Zyl, son of voice actress

Nikki van der Zyl Monica "Nikki" van der Zyl (27 April 1935 – 6 March 2021) was a German actress based in the United Kingdom, known for her dubbing work on the ''James Bond'' film franchise. Early life Nikki van der Zyl was born on 27 April 1935 in Berlin, t ...

, whose father was Rabbi Werner van der Zyl. In September 2022 she married Adrian Cohen, a banking and finance lawyer, at West London Synagogue.

References

External links

Personal websiteBoard of Deputies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:van der Zyl, Marie 1965 births Living people 21st-century English lawyers Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University English Jews People from Woodford, London Presidents of the Board of Deputies of British Jews People from the London Borough of Redbridge Marie Officers of the Order of the British Empire English solicitors