The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) is delighted to congratulate two colleagues who have been awarded in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

Carol Hart, AJR’s Head of Volunteer and Community Services, receives an MBE for services to the Jewish community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Carol has worked for the AJR for 15 years managing a team of coordinators and over 350 volunteers. Since the beginning of lockdown Carol has put in place new services to ensure the well-being of AJR’s members including regular phone-calls, letter writing, socially-distanced garden visits and online support groups for carers.

Carol said, “After the shock of hearing about the Honour, my feeling is of immense gratitude that I have the opportunity to work for a superb charity (AJR) which supports inspirational members alongside a team of dedicated staff, volunteers and trustees.”

Anthony Spiro, AJR Trustee and Joint President of The Wiener Holocaust Library, is awarded an OBE for services to Holocaust remembrance. Anthony, a long-serving AJR trustee  said, “I am enormously honoured to receive this award, which I dedicate to the memory of my parents, Anna and Ludwig Spiro, who fled Germany to make a new life in the United Kingdom. They took an active role as volunteers at The Wiener Holocaust Library and The Association of Jewish Refugees. I am proud to have followed their example.

“The Wiener and the AJR are independent charities yet their work overlaps and they are both particularly relevant today. The Library is the world’s oldest institution for the study of antisemitism and the crimes of Nazi Germany, while the AJR provides comfort, friendship, social care and financial support to its refugee membership.”

AJR Chairman Andrew Kaufman MBE and Chief Executive Michael Newman said: “We send our warmest congratulations to Anthony and Carol. This is wonderful news and truly reflects and rightly recognises how devoted they both are to the AJR’s mission. Anthony continues to be a source of great wisdom and good counsel helping to ensure the AJR is in the best possible shape to carry out our services while Carol has earnt her glowing reputation as a conscientious, thoughtful and caring senior manager of the AJR.”

Dr Toby Simpson, Director of The Wiener Holocaust Library said, “Anthony’s contribution to Library as Chairman over the years has been immense and we continue to benefit from his sure, steady guidance. In particular, he was instrumental in the move to our new home in Russell Square, which has been transformative for our collections and the people we serve.”