Joseph Sieff

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Joseph Edward Sieff (1905 – 1982, also known as Teddy Sieff),[1] was an English businessman and Zionist. He was chairman of retailer Marks & Spencer and honorary vice-president of the British Zionist Federation.

Sieff worked at M&S for much of his career, as did his brother Israel Sieff. Teddy succeeded Israel as Chairman in 1967, serving until 1972.[2] He was succeeded as Chairman by Israel's son Marcus Sieff.

In 1973, Teddy Sieff survived an assassination attempt by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On 30 December, PFLP assassin Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (aka Carlos the Jackal) called on Sieff's home on Queen's Grove in St John's Wood and ordered the maid to take him to Sieff.[3] Finding Sieff in the bathroom, in his Bathtub, Carlos fired one bullet at Sieff from his Tokarev 7.62mm pistol, which bounced off Sieff just between his nose and upper lip and knocked him unconscious; the gun then jammed and Carlos fled.[1][3][4] The assassination attempt is depicted in the 2010 miniseries/film, Carlos with an actor portraying Sieff. Archive footage of an interview with Sieff himself is also included in the miniseries/film.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Christopher Andrew (2009). The Defence of the Realm. Penguin. p. 616. ISBN 978-0-14-102330-4.
  2. ^ "M&S Marks in time : people : founders and family".
  3. ^ a b Valentine Low (12 February 2008). "House where Carlos the Jackal first struck faces the bulldozer". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010.
  4. ^ William Cash (8 Jan 2010). "Elizabeth Sieff's mission to put a low price on the high life". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2012-01-03.


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