“We don’t have a front row seat,” says the Chief Rabbi, when I suggest he is watching history unfold as he remains trapped in Israel, under Iranian fire.

“We are on the stage. Every single person in Israel right now is a target and that includes Palestinians, Arabs, people of all nationalities and religions. We are experiencing a direct attempt to wipe out the Jewish state.”

Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth since 2013, should be in Britain, where he is the most prominent Jewish leader, heading the United Synagogue group of orthodox synagogues and representing the country’s 270,000 Jews at state events.

Sir Ephraim flew to Israel earlier this month for two “simchas”, or family celebrations, on a trip that was supposed to precede his participation in the Conference of European Rabbis in Munich this week. He was preparing for Shabbat on Friday morning when Israel announced it had bombed Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.