By COLlive reporter
A leading Chabad Shliach and community activist in England will be receiving a British order of chivalry by Queen Elizabeth II.
Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin, Executive Director of Chabad of Ilford and Drugsline UK, is on the queen’s birthday honours list slated to be honored as a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
In the list released Shabbos, June 13, 2009, Sufrin was lauded “for serv the Jewish Community Relations and to Drugsline in North East London.”
King George V founded the Order in 4 June 1917 to fill gaps in the British honours system which honoured only senior military officers and civil servants.
In 2000, the Queen honored Rabbi Nachman Sudak, Head Shliach to Great Britain, as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to Young People.”
Rabbi Aryeh Moshe Sufrin together with his wife Devorah Sufrin moved to Ilford, Essex in 1983, following in the footsteps of his parents who moved to the area in 1976.
The first Chabad House was opened in 1983. In January 2001 Chabad moved into its new and refurbished 4,000 sq. foot center. It houses its synagogue, library, nursery school, Hebrew classes, and counseling services.
While attending to his religious duties, Rabbi Sufrin founded Drugsline-Chabad, a non-denominational crisis, information and support charity based in London, known for its unique drugs education outreach program.
In February 2008, Sufrin debated Britain’s former Home Secretary MP David Blunkett on BBC’s On the Politics Show over the re-classification of cannabis.
Upon realizing that the Jewish and Muslim communities share many of the same cultural taboos about drugs, Sufrin has shown nonconformism when he invited Imam Haroon Rashid Patel to sit in on Drugsline’s volunteer training sessions.
Another Lubavitch community activist to be honored is David Simon Segelman, listed on staff of Lubavitch Foundation Regional Headquarters in Stamford Hill, “for serv Jewish People in North London.”
He is an insperational Rabbi, its great to be a menber of his synagogue.
The Sufrins have done it yet again prince edward wasnt forced to come to Chabad of Ilford maybe its the good work there doing and always have been doing!
Not nice! As an Anglo American I resent that comment. Superiority doesn’t become you..
Mazal to to the worthy recipients!
#11: Don’t confuse the Americans with facts. They enjoy wallowing in ignorance.
And you get to say the brocha on seeing malchus!
this year TWO Lubavitch Rabbi’s are recieving honours
1. Rabbi David Simon Segelman, For serv Jewish People in North London (chabad activist and father of shluchim & shluchos).
2.Rabbi Aryeh Moshe Sufrin, For serv the Jewish Community Relations and to Drugsline in North East London.
Mazel Tov U Aryeh.
You deserve it totally!
Chanoch and co
Brisbane
Which son? What a load of garbage!
This is a great honor. It reflects well on all Chabad, but of course, Rabbi Sufrin deserves it for his dedicated work.
Another Lubavitch Person in London, Dovid Segielman received the MBE too for services to the North London community. Just because he isn’t a shliach, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be mentioned.
1. Prince Phillips’s (Her Majesty’ husband) mother was awarded the Righteous amongst Nations award by Yad Vashem for hiding Yidden during the Holocaust. The unfounded and untrue belief that Prince Phillip himself and Prince Charles are Anti Semites stems from the closeness they shared with the late Lord Mountbatten, the Queen’s cousin who was murdered by the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Party – mostly funded by supporters in the U.S.A. helping the Irish fight against the British holding on to Northern Ireland). Mountbatten was a well known Anti Semite and that is where this rumor stems from, however, it is most… Read more »
wow go enland!
im english and all about the Quenn is not true!..
its nice to have sumink on about england for a chage!!
we rock!
So will it be lord Aryeh or Sir Aryeh ?
while the above comments are debating if the Queen and her family are anti semites!……..Mazel tov to Rabbi Sufrin AND Mr Dovid Segelman also a Lubavitcher from London , seperately getting this honour of M.B.E.,
Well done Arye! You deserve all the respect you get. Its well earned and you and your Chabad House are a nachas to all
Its about time that the world reconises the great contribution of Chabad people to the Jewish community and the local population as a whole.
Way to go rabbi sufrin!
that is totally false and absolutely unfounded. the royal family infact may have originated from one of the lost tribes according to some theory’s. and infact the queen has already given many frum yidden different honors throughout the years!
Only her son is an anti semite. Her Majesty keeps silent on issues of opinion. And adheres to “be seen and not heard”
this is trully amazing
you should write that he is the only rabbi on the list
the queen and her son are anti semites
Keep up the good work!!!