With high Government, military and Fascist dignitaries in attendance, Prof. David Prato was inducted today as chief rabbi of Italy in solemn ceremonies at Rome’s largest synagogue. Prof. Prato, who was recalled from Alexandria to assume his new post, succeeds the late Dr. Angelo Sacerdoti.
In his first sermon, heard by a large congregation including the representatives of Italy’s leading Jewish institutions and communities, Prof. Prato emphasized that Jews had lived for ages in Mediterranean countries connected with Italy. He also appealed to Italian Jews to help in the work of upbuilding Palestine.
Following the sermon, the ancient Torah was taken from the Ark, to be sent to the Jews of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a present from Rome’s Jewish community.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.