Sigmund Sternberg

Sir Sigmund Sternberg, (born June 2, 1921, dies 18 October 2016), was a Hungarian-born British philanthropist, entrepreneur and Zionist, known for his interfaith work.

Sternberg, the former Chairman of Isys plc, gave £100,000 to the Labour Party in May 2001. He has also given large donations in 1977 and 1979 and spent more than £5,000 on "tickets for dinners" in 1998.

Isys plc is a software company which includes IBM, NatWest, Halifax, Abbey National, National Power, GlaxoWellcome and BAE Systems among its clients. Sir Sigmund Sternberg is also the Chairman of Martin Slowe Estates Ltd (a property development company) and founder of the Commodities Research Unit (one of the largest commodity consultancies in the world). He is a fellow of the Institute of Directors and is Vice President of the Labour Finance and Industry Group (he was Deputy Chairman from 1972-93).

In 2004, Sigmund Sternberg withdrew the Sternberg Interfaith Prize from being given to Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain. This was as a result of Sacranie's denunciation of Israeli policies as "ethnic cleansing".

Donations

In July 2015, Sternberg donated £3,000 to support Andy Burnham's campaign to succeed Ed Miliband as leader of the Labour Party.

Reform Judaism

Despite his Orthodox origins, Sternberg joined the then RSGB after his divorce. He was a congregant at Alyth Gardens Synagogue and later became President of the Movement for Reform Judaism. He was also the principal sponsor of the Sternberg Centre for Judaism, in Finchley, north London, the largest Jewish cultural centre in Europe.

Interfaith Work

An obituary in the JC states:

In the late 1970s, he was directed towards the field of endeavour that was to play a leading role in his life, after being asked by the then president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews to “save” the Council of Christians and Jews.

Interfaith activities were to become his passion and the main source of his renown...

Sternberg had long believed that interfaith dialogue should be extended to include Muslims and in 1997 set up the Three Faiths Forum with Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi and the Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke, a cause to which he remained passionately committed.

Family

Family tree (simplified, showing known direct line and siblings):

• Joseph Sternberg (father of Sir Sigmund)
• Rosa Sternberg (mother of Sir Sigmund)
  • Sir Sigmund Sternberg (2 June 1921 – 18 October 2016), philanthropist and interfaith campaigner
  • m1. (1949–1969) Ruth Schiff (divorced; died c. 1999)
    • Michael Vivian Sternberg KC (b. 1948), family law barrister and President of the Faith & Belief Forum. Michael Vivian Sternberg KC (born 1948) is married to Marliese Sternberg (née Levinson).
      • Daniel Isaiah Sternberg (b. September 1982), District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) and former Honorary Lawyer of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue
    • Frances Aviva Blane, contemporary artist
  • m2. (1970–2014) Hazel Everett-Jones (widow of Sigmund’s cousin Victor Sternberg; died May 2014)
    • Ruth Tamir (née Sternberg), trustee of the Sir Sigmund Sternberg Charitable Foundation. Married to Noam Tamir (also a trustee)
    • David Sternberg

Sir Sigmund’s sister or close relative through the Perlman line, Suzanne Perlman, was frequently present at family events and memorials.

Affiliations

• Faith and Belief Forum (formerly Three Faiths Forum) - founder
• Institute for Business Ethics
• Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress
• Israel-Diaspora Trust, trustee 2005-2008
• Labour Finance and Industry Group
• International Council of Christians and Jews, Executive circa 1987.
• Council of Christians and Jews
• The Sir Sigmund Sternberg Charitable Foundation