Maurice Orbach (13 July 190224 April 1979) was a British Labour Party politician, who represented the Willesden East and

Stockport South Stockport South was a borough constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 1983. History Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, which came ...

constituencies.

Background

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, Orbach was educated at technical college in Wales and as an extramural student at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

Public service

Orbach was a lifelong member of Poale Zion (Great Britain). He was

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the Jewish Trades Advisory Council ("a committee 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 the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established in 17 ...

, aimed at countering anti-Semitism in business life" during World War II) from 1940 and remained its secretary until his death. He was chairman of Central Middlesex Group hospital management committee. He was active in the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...

(WJC). In 1954, on behalf of both the WJC and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, he went to Cairo to help save the lives of Jews sentenced to death as part of the

Lavon Affair The Lavon affair was a failed Israeli covert operation, codenamed Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the summer of 1954. As part of a false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to pla ...

. Later, he said that Egypt's President,

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

, had agreed to spare their lives but then reneged to balance their deaths with members of

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

Political service

Orbach contested

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

in the 1931 election and Willesden East in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and in a 1938 by-election. In 1937 he was elected to the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, representing St Pancras South West. Orbach was elected Member of Parliament for Willesden East in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, serving until his defeat in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, and for

from

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

until Parliament dissolved for the 1979 general election; he died two weeks later, nine days before polling day. His successor was Thomas McNally.

Personal life and death

In 1935, Orbach married Ruth Hubsch, an American, who later taught English to refugees from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. She served as chairman of Pioneer Women (later renamed British Na'amat). She died in 1983. Maurice Orbach died age 76 on 24 April 1979. Daughter

Susie Susie is a female name that can be a diminutive form of Susan, Susanne, Suzanne, Susannah, Susanna or Susana. Susie may refer to: Songs *"Susie", a song by Krokus from '' Painkiller'' *"Susie", a song by John Lee Hooker from the album '' ...

is a psychotherapist, writer and co-founder of The Women's Therapy Centre in London. Son Laurence taught history at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, New York, before founding Quarto Publishing in London in 1976 and served as chairman and CEO of The Quarto Group, Inc.

Legacy

At his death in 1979, the ''

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

'' called him a "prominent leader of Anglo Jewry" and stated "a stalwart Zionist, he was a founder of the Labour Friends of Israel." In 2010 ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' referred to him as "a self-proclaimed Labour

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

who had conspicuously failed to support Israel during the

Suez crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

."#

Collections

Orbach collected much of the material found in th
Trades Advisory Council Archive
deposited at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. The archive contains papers relating to the activities of the Council and additional material relating to concerns the organisation responded to, particularly

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and antifacist literature.

Work

;Books * ''Austria, 1946'' (1946)

References

External links

Trades Advisory Council Archive
at

* *''Times Guide to the House of Commons October 1974'' * *
National Archives
Letter of 13 Feb 1957 from Maurice Orbach MP, enclosing telegrams from constituents urging UK government to oppose sanctions against Israel
They Speak for You
417 speeches by Maurice Orbach (1945-1979)
Getty Images
Photo of Maurice Orbach in 1952
Getty Images
Photo of Maurice Orbach in 1972
Palestine Poster Project
"Nationalist Worker! Be Ready To Show Your Strength" by Maurice Orbach (1937) {{DEFAULTSORT:Orbach, Maurice 1902 births 1979 deaths British Zionists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 Members of London County Council Jewish British politicians