Academics, actors, journalists and religious leaders crossed the globe to pay tribute to a pioneering rabbi whose memorial was held last Sunday.

Rabbi David Goldberg – who died last April – was the first Anglo-Jewish commentator to call for Palestinian rights and was the first rabbi to initiate gatherings of Jews, Christians and Muslims at Regent’s Park mosque.

David and his wife Carole Goldberg’s home in Kentish Town became a meetings centre point.

Described as a private man, he enjoyed walking with his Jack Russell terrier, Troy, named after the Thomas Hardy character.

Martin Woollacott, former foreign editor of the Guardian, knew David from when they were schoolboys at Manchester Grammar School. He remembered how their English literature teacher would ask a young well-read David questions about works by Hardy, rather than the other way around.

Mr Woollacott said in a tribute at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John’s Wood on Sunday: “His moral sense was extremely sharp. He had a great understanding of the human condition and his own roots, examining Judaism and Zionism with a judiciousness that could not be denied. He did not defer to received opinion … he came to his own conclusions as set out in his book Promised Land.”

In 2004, Rabbi Goldberg received an OBE for his interfaith work and in 1999 the International Council of Christians and Jews presented him with their Interfaith Gold Medallion Peace through Dialogue.

In an article in The Times in 1978, he wrote: “How can any Jew celebrate with a clear conscience the Festival of Freedom when he knows that over two million Palestinians languish in refugee camps?”

Rabbi Goldberg wrote five books including The Jewish People: Their History and Their Religion and Israel and the Jewish Psyche Today.

Born in east London in 1939 and raised in Manchester, Rabbi Goldberg was a teacher before becoming a rabbi.

Before university – he won a scholarship to study at Oxford – he spent a gap year working on a kibbutz in Israel.

In 1975, David joined the Liberal Jewish Synagogue and nine years later was appointed senior rabbi.

Lord’s cricket ground was a short walk away – Rabbi Goldberg’s sporting passion.

Actress Janet Suzman read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138: When My Love Swears That She Is Made of Truth at the memorial last Sunday.

Former BBC chairman Lord Michael Grade said in a tribute to those who gathered: “He loved cricket, which is not surprising because it is akin to a religion to those of us who are similarly addicted. He was so, so proud of his Test Match special interview during the tea break on BBC radio. All these non-career-related interests, coupled with his love of literature, give us an insight into a very rounded and grounded individual.

“Like all naturally gifted communicators, David could make the most complex ideas accessible without ever patronising his listeners. It was truly a rare gift.

“He had charisma and approachability in the world of work. He was quite simply a star.”

Rabbi Goldberg is survived by Carole and their children, Rupert, 45, and Emily, 42, as well as grandson Oscar and his brother, Jonathan, and sister Sandra.