Jews make guest list for Prince William’s wedding

Will Chief Rabbi Sacks attend nuptials in a church?

By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLER
It’s one of the most anticipated social events of the century and invitations are almost as rare as a tan in Manchester or a fish-and-chip shop in Ashkelon, but over the past week details have leaked as to the handful of Israelis and Jews invited to the wedding of Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29.
Ron Prosor, who was recently named Israel’s next envoy to the United Nations, will end his tenure as ambassador to the UK on a high note by attending the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, it emerged earlier in the week.
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A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that Prosor had been invited by Buckingham Palace but declined to elaborate.
While it is unknown whether all presiding ambassadors in the UK have been invited to the event, the envoys of rogue states Zimbabwe and North Korea are also on the guest list.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of the UK, will be in attendance, his office confirmed on Tuesday, as will British Reform movement president Rabbi Tony Bayfield, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
This contrasts with the snubbing of then British chief rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits back in 1981, when he was not invited to Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding.
The event may pose a halachic question for Sacks, since the wedding is a Christian ceremony set to take place in a church.
Another invitee is Lily Safra, the widow of Jewish billionaire Edmund Safra, who is considered a close personal friend of the royal family.
In Israel, the British Embassy is expected to hold a large party in Tel Aviv on the day of the ceremony. The Rabin Center was chosen to host the event over the traditional venue of the ambassador’s residence in Ramat Gan because it can more easily accommodate the hundreds of expected guests.


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