Tributes paid to ‘proud Indian and proud Jew’ General Jack Jacob

Jewish community leaders have praised General Jack Jacob’s “huge contribution” after the celebrated soldier passed away last week.

An Indian Jew, Lt. Gen Jack Jacob was born in Calcutta in 1923, and enlisted in the British Indian Army before his 20th birthday, after hearing reports of the extermination of Europe’s Jews.

He fought in Burma against the Japanese, but returned to India after the partition, fighting in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1956 and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. He later founded the Commonwealth Jewish Council and sought to build relations between India and Israel.

“He was a proud Indian and a proud Jew,” said current CJC president Lord Mendelsohn. “He made a huge contribution to the Council’s work. His great service will be fondly remembered by the communities across the Commonwealth.”

Last week, Indian President Narendra Modi joined other senior military and political figures in honouring Jacob’s legacy, after he passed away in New Delhi aged 92.