In memory of French President Georges Pompidou who died here last night at the age of 62 after a long illness a special service is to be held tomorrow in the “Grande Synagogue” of Paris, the Central Consistories of France and Paris announced today. According to unofficial reports, the President died of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow described by medical dictionaries as fatal within 6 to 24 months of its onset.
In a message of sympathy to Mrs. Claude Pompidou. French Chief Rabbi Jacob Kaplan and Central Consistory President Alain de Rothschild expressed their “emotion and stupefaction” and paid tribute to “the moral and physical courage of the chief of state who assumed his heavy responsibilities up to the last limits of his strength, despite the repeated attacks of a cruel disease.”
In a telegram to Prime Minister Pierre Messmer, Rabbi Kaplan conveyed “deep religious condolences” to the government and said the Jewish community Joins in the nation’s mourning. Alain Poher. President of the Senate, will serve as interim President until the election of a new chief executive. Poher is a member of the board of the “France-Israel Alliance.” He is very active in the “Solidarity Committee for Jews in Arab Countries” of which he is a former president.
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