Mazel tov to Michael Mail, the founder and Executive director of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, who has been awarded an MBE — Member of the Order of the British Empire — in King Charles III’s 2026 New Year Honors list.
Michael established the FJH in 2015, to work toward the preservation of synagogues and other Jewish heritage sites and ensure a sustainable future for them. He was awarded his MBE for his services to heritage and charity.
“I consider this important recognition for our work/cause and I’m delighted that this comes at a time when the Foundation is significantly expanding its operations,” Michael told JHE.
The Foundation has consulted on or been involved with a number of projects, and Michael Mail personally has been active in international advisory roles regarding Jewish heritage, with organizations and institutions such as the Council of Europe, ICOMOS, and the Future for Religious Heritage network.
Current major projects include:
- the restoration of the synagogue in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, and creation there of the Welsh Jewish Cultural Centre. We have posted regularly on the progress of this project — including when, in 2021, King Charles (then Prince Charles) visited the synagogue and learned about the project.
- the project to restore and secure and sustainable future for Brighton’s beautiful Middle Street Synagogue, which marked its 150th anniversary in 2025.
Both have received major funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In other major achievements, the Foundation commissioned the Center for Jewish Art of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to create an inventory of the historic synagogues that exist today across the whole of Europe, categorizing each synagogue building according to its significance and condition. This resulted in the Historic Synagogues of Europe web site.
The Foundation also has collaborated with the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative and Centropa, on an EU-funded project to develop educational projects involving Jewish cemeteries.
We have posted frequently about the Foundation’s projects and activities — you can use the search function to find more or visit its web site.