Ten years after his passing, the World Jewish Congress, together with Axel Springer SE, honored the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of Lord George Weidenfeld.
Born in Vienna in 1919, Weidenfeld fled Austria for Britain following the Nazi annexation in 1938. From those beginnings as a young Jewish refugee, he became one of the most influential publishers, intellectual conveners and political advisers of postwar Europe, building relationships that connected the emerging State of Israel with leaders and institutions across the continent and beyond.
During the Second World War, Weidenfeld worked for the BBC Overseas Service, before co-founding the publishing house Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 1948. Just a year later, he stepped away from the young firm to serve as political adviser and chief of cabinet to Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president. There, he worked among Israel’s founding generation and developed relationships with figures including David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan and Shimon Peres that ensured for decades.
Weidenfeld carried those relationships into a lifetime of advocacy for Israel and support of international dialogue. His publishing house brought the writings of leading Israeli figures to audiences around the world, while his broader work made him an important bridge between Israel and political and intellectual circles abroad. In 1996, he helped establish the Club of Three, bringing together leaders and opinion-shapers from Britain, France and Germany for candid dialogue on Europe’s future. That initiative would later contribute to the establishment of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
Weidenfeld’s relationship with the World Jewish Congress reflected that commitment. An honorary vice president of the WJC, he was presented with the organization’s Theodor Herzl Award by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2015, recognizing his lifelong efforts on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.
A decade after his passing, his legacy endures in the institutions he built, the relationships he forged and his lifelong commitment to strengthening Israel’s place in the world.
