Italians of all faiths celebrated last week the 30th anniversary of the investiture of Dr. Elio Toaff as Chief Rabbi of Italy. Rabbi Toaff, hailed by Jews and non-Jews for his service, is credited with saving countless Jews from deportation and death during World War II when he was marked for death by the Nazis. In 1941, he was taken hostage by the SS along with many members of his congregation in Livorno (Leghorn) following an Italian partisan raid on his town. He was ordered to dig his own grave but was released at the last moment on orders from higher echelons. Rabbi Toaff, who began his career as rabbi of the ancient Jewish community in Ancona, was named Chief Rabbi of Venice after the war and invested as Chief Rabbi of Italy in 1951.
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