Marie van der Zyl

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British solicitor and former president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews

Marie van der Zyl

Occupation Solicitor
Known for President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, 2018–2024
Website Keystone Law profile

Marie van der Zyl (Marie van der Zyl OBE) is a British solicitor and former president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. She was elected on 13 May 2018, succeeding Jonathan Arkush, and was re-elected on 11 May 2021. She stood down after two terms when Phil Rosenberg was elected on 12 May 2024.[1][2][3][4] In December 2021 and January 2022, as president, she led the Board's campaign against the BBC's reporting of the Oxford Street Chanukah bus incident, including an open letter and a meeting with the Director-General, Tim Davie.[5][6]

Legal career

Van der Zyl qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and specialises in employment law. According to her profile at Keystone Law, which she joined as a partner in 2023, she had previously worked at Davenport Lyons, Gordon Dadds and Ince.[7] The Keystone profile describes her as advising employers, senior executives, charities and partnerships, and records that she has been recognised in The Legal 500 for employment work.[7]

Board of Deputies

Jewish News reported in May 2018 that van der Zyl, then 53, was a deputy for the Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade and had beaten Simon Hochhauser, Sheila Gewolb and Edwin Shuker to become "only the second woman president in the Board's 250-year history". She said her first aim was "to unify the Board".[2] The Board's own announcement said she had served as vice-president for the previous three years, and that she succeeded Jonathan Arkush.[1] She was re-elected on 11 May 2021, defeating Jonathan Neumann.[3] On 12 May 2024 Phil Rosenberg was elected president; the Board said she was "standing down after serving two terms in the role".[4]

The Board's later biography of her says she "represents the Jewish Lads and Girls' Brigade (JLGB) on the Board of Deputies", that she served on the Labour Party's Antisemitism Advisory Board, and that she "played a crucial part in the fight against antisemitism in the Labour Party". It also says she "spearheaded a successful campaign to amend legislation that could have resulted in the forced cremation of both Jewish and Muslim deceased" during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that she was "at the forefront of the campaign against the so-called 'cab-rank' policy" of the Inner North London Coroner; according to that biography, "The High Court subsequently ruled that this policy was discriminatory."[8] Those claims are given here as the Board presents them.


The Jewish Chronicle reported in June 2024 that van der Zyl had joined the Labour Party after stepping down as president. In an article dated 4 June 2024 the paper quoted her as saying she had "never previously joined a political party" but was "now proud to join Labour", and that she felt Keir Starmer had "stuck to his words and done everything possible to deal with antisemitism."[9] This is given here as the paper reported it.


Oxford Street bus reporting

After the Oxford Street Chanukah bus incident of 29 November 2021, van der Zyl sent an open letter to the BBC on 7 December 2021. According to Ofcom, the letter said the reporting "harms Jews directly, and it also harms societal understanding of antisemitism".[5] The Board commissioned two analyses of the audio, by D3 Forensics and DigFind and by Ghil'ad Zuckermann, and published them on 30 December 2021 under the headline "Independent reports commissioned by Board of Deputies conclusively prove BBC error in antisemitic incident story".[10] Both reports contained qualifications, which are set out on the page for the Oxford Street Chanukah bus incident. Whether anyone on the bus said "dirty Muslims" remains disputed; Ofcom later declined to decide what the audio contained.[5]

On 18 January 2022 van der Zyl met the Director-General, Tim Davie, and other senior BBC executives. She told a Board plenary: "We have strongly advocated our position over the BBC's misreporting of the Oxford Street attack."[6] The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit partly upheld complaints in a finding of 26 January 2022, later clarified on 3 February. Ofcom, on 7 November 2022, found that the online article failed the BBC's guidelines on due accuracy and due impartiality, and that the BBC had made "a serious editorial misjudgment" in not reporting on air that its broadcast claim was disputed.[11][5] The Board's biography of van der Zyl says that she "brought the case of the BBC's misreporting on the incident to the broadcast regulator OFCOM" and that Ofcom's findings "validated the Jewish community's concerns about the BBC's coverage".[8] Ofcom recorded complaints and representations from a number of organisations, including the Board, The Jewish Chronicle and the Office of the Chief Rabbi.[5]

Other roles

The Board's biography, and a profile on the site of the World Jewish Congress, describe van der Zyl as a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress and as its Commissioner for Gender Equality and Inclusion, and as a trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Jewish Leadership Council.[8][12] She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2023 New Year Honours, listed as "President, The Board of Deputies of British Jews. For services to Faith and to Integration".[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Board of Deputies of British Jews, "Marie van der Zyl is elected Board of Deputies President", 13 May 2018.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jenni Frazer, "Marie van der Zyl elected next Board of Deputies president", Jewish News, 13 May 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Board of Deputies of British Jews, "Marie van der Zyl re-elected President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews", 11 May 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Board of Deputies of British Jews, "Phil Rosenberg elected new President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews", 12 May 2024.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Ofcom, Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 461: BBC News Online and BBC London News, 2 December 2021, 7 November 2022.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lee Harpin, "Board of Deputies president met BBC director general to discuss antisemitism rift", Jewish News, 23 January 2022.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Keystone Law, "Marie van der Zyl OBE", accessed 10 November 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Board of Deputies of British Jews, "Marie van der Zyl OBE", accessed 10 November 2026.
  9. ↑ Simon Rocker, "Ex-Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl joins Labour", The Jewish Chronicle, 4 June 2024.
  10. ↑ Board of Deputies of British Jews, press release, 30 December 2021.
  11. ↑ BBC Executive Complaints Unit, "BBC News Online and BBC London, 2 December 2021", finding of 26 January 2022, clarified 3 February 2022.
  12. ↑ World Jewish Congress, "Marie van der Zyl", accessed 10 November 2026. The same profile still describes her as a partner at Ince GD LLP; her Keystone Law profile and the Board biography give her firm as Keystone Law.
  13. ↑ Cabinet Office, "New Year Honours List 2023 (CSV)", GOV.UK, accessed 10 November 2026: "Marie, VAN DER ZYL… President, The Board of Deputies of British Jews. For services to Faith and to Integration".
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