Bernhard Mendes-France, 23-year-old son of the former French Premier, Pierre Mendes-France, will visit Israel at the end of this month to take part in ground-breaking ceremonies for a new synagogue which will bear the name of the ex-Premier’s father, Tavi David, who died six months ago.
The decision to name the new synagogue at Kfar Saba after the elder Mendes-France was announced by Chaim Nachmani, community leader in Kfar Saba, whose associations with the former French Premier date back to 1940 when both were imprisoned in Morocco. Mendes France was detained after escaping from France during the Nazi occupation.
The friendship made in the Casablanca prison was maintained later through correspondence. When the French leader’s father died, Nachmani decided to name the synagogue in is memory. The ex-Premier and his wife will attend inauguration ceremonies-for the synagogue.
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