Prof. Sylvain Levi, noted French historian and orientalist and president of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, leading Jewish organization which is this year celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary, died here suddenly today. He was 72 years old.
Prof. Levi was born in this city on March 28, 1863. He was educated at the Sorbonne where he later served on the faculty. He has been on the faculty of the College of France since 1894 and with the Ecole des Hautes Etudes since 1885, at both of which schools he occupied the chair of Sanscrit Language and Literature.
Prof. Levi was named to the presidency of the Alliance in 1920 and held that position ever since. He was a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, president of the Society Asiatique and held memberships in the following: Imperial Academy of Japan, Russian Academy of Sciences and the Belgian Royal Academy. In addition he was an honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society in London and the American Oriental Society.
At the Peace Conference at Versailles, Dr. Levi, representing French Jewry on the Committee of Jewish Delegations, took a vigorous stand against Palestine as a Jewish national home. Dr. Levi was always a strong opponent of Zionism.
A brilliant orientalist, among his published works were “Le Theatre Indien,” La Doctrine du Sacrifice dans les Brahmanas,” “Le Nepal,” and “L’Inde.”
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.
