Top Russian rabbi awarded France’s highest honour
Conference of European Rabbis president Pinchas Goldschmidt given the Legion of Honour in Paris ceremony
A Swiss-born Russian rabbi who heads a Brussels-based rabbinical group has been France’s highest award, the Légion d’Honneur – Legion of Honour.
Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, was bestowed with the award in a Paris ceremony by Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Goldschmidt, who helped re-establish Soviet Jewry after the fall of the Berlin Wall, said he was “honoured” to receive the award, which was established by Napoleon 216 years ago, and is the highest French decoration for military and civil servicemen.
He paid tribute to France’s Jewish community, by far the largest in Europe, adding: “We will continue our work for religious minorities in order that we should build a Europe free from hate that respects our freedom and right to practice our faith.”
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