Marie van der Zyl
Marie Sarah van der Zyl (née Kaye; born November 1965) is the 48th President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. She was elected in May 2018 and re-elected in May 2021. Early life and career. Van der Zyl grew up in South Woodford, London, the daughter of Barry Kaye, who was in tailoring, and his wife Szusanne, a beautician. She attended the local comprehensive school, and took a law degree at Liverpool Polytechnic (now Liverpool John Moores University). Specialising in employment law because, she says, "I have always felt a real sense of  justice and fairness", she defended gentlemen’s club chain Stringfellows in 2012, successfully arguing that the claimant, a lap dancer, was self-employed. Board of Deputies of British Jews. Van der Zyl was initially a Deputy for the Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade. She took office as President on 1 June 2018, succeeding Jonathan Arkush, who did not seek re-election. She is the second ever woman and fourth lawyer in a row to hold the role. She is a self-described "fighter" and takes as a compliment the comparison that "the only difference between me and a Rottweiler is  that a Rottweiler eventually lets go". Her visits to her grandparents gave her, she says, "a great passion for Israel" and she believes that the Board exists "to promote a sympathetic understanding of Israel." She has pledged to "defend Israel’s legitimacy and its centrality to Jewish identity". In 2018, "The Jerusalem Post" ranked her as the 40th most influential Jew. Other roles. Van der Zyl is an associate member of Mill Hill United Synagogue and a member of the management board of West London Synagogue. She is a trustee of the Jewish Leadership Council. Personal life. Van der Zyl  lives in Mill Hill, London. Her husband Darell is an office furniture supplier and a member of West London Synagogue; they have two daughters. She is the daughter-in-law of voice actress Nikki van der Zyl, whose father was the West London Synagogue rabbi Werner van der Zyl.