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24 Friday, June 20, 1980
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
French Jews Elect Sephardi Chief Rabbi
PARIS (JTA) — Rabbi'.
Rene Sirat, a 50-year-old
Algerian-born Jewish
educator and professor of
Oriental languages, has
been elected France's chief
rabbi, to succeed 85-year-
old Chief Rabbi Jacob Kap-
lan who will retire at the
end of this year.
Sirat is the first Sephar-
dic Jew of North African
origin to become chief rabbi
and his election attests to
the growing influence of
Jews from North Africa who
now comprise about 50 pre-
cent fo the 750,000-strong
Jewish community in
France.
His victory was some-
thing of a surprise as his op-
ponent, Chief Rabbi Max
Warschawski of Stras-
bourg, was supported by
Chief Rabbi Kaplan. Sirat
was elected by the General
Assembly of the Jewish
Consistory plus delegates
representing French rabbis
and the eastern depart-
ments of France where the
country's oldest Jewish
communities reside.
He was elected for a
term of seven years
whereas Kaplan, who
was elected in 1955, was
designated chief rabbi
for life. But the selection
of Sirat as the spiritual
leader of French Jewry
marked a turning point in
other ways in the history
of this Jewish commu-
nity.
Born in Bone( now An-
naba), Algeria, he came to
France as a youth in 1948
and, after his ordination,
served as rabbi in the town
of Clermont-Ferrand in cen-
tral France and in the city of
Toulouse in southwestern
France. But he gave up the
pulpit 20 years ago to pur-
sue a career in education.
He was a pioneer in the
teaching of Hebrew in
France and headed the
French Jewish school sys-
tem.
Above all, Rabbi Sirat is
noted as an intellectual. He
received his PhD from the
University of Strasbourg in
Romania Slows Down Aid
in Still Untried Trifa Case
The Romanian goyern-
ment is the target of criti-
cism of the U.S. Justice De-
partment on the grounds
that it is slowing down its
efforts to help in the case
against Archbishop Vale-
rian Trifa. _
The archbishop of the
Romanian Orthodox Epis-
copate faces trial on federal
charges he illegally entered
the U.S. in 1950 and fraudu-
lently obtained citizenship
in 1957 by lying about his
alleged leadership of the
anti-Semitic Romanian
Iron Guard.
The Romanian govern-
ment has yet to clarify cer-
tain trial documents in re-
sponse to a seven-month-old
request by the U.S. Justice
Department. It also has
failed to schedule tes-
timony from three Roma-
nian citizens as asked by the
U.S. government in
January.
The three Romanian
citizens all claim to have
known Trifa during 1936
to 1941, when the gov-
ernment alleges he took
part in persecutions of
Jews.
Meanwhile, the case was
transferred last month to
Chief Judge John Feikens of
the U.S. District Court in
Detroit from U.S. Appeals
Judge Cornelia Kennedy.
Judge Kennedy requested
the reassignment after she
learned she would be unable
to hear the case this sum-
mer because of the cancella-
tion of the appeals court's
traditional mid-year break.
1965 and is a professor at
the School of Oriental Lan-
guages in Paris.
His predecessor has
been called the "con-
science and spokesman"
of the Jewish community
in France. In undertak-
ing that role, the new
chief rabbi faces a com-
munity that has become
sharply divided in recent
years between tradi-
tionalists and a younger
generation of militants
who believe that French
Jewry must exert its
political influence in mat-
ters of Jewish concern,
particularly those relat-
ing to France's Middle
East policies.
The traditionalists, re-
presented by Rabbi Kaplan
and the Rothschild family
which heads the major
Jewish organizations in
France, have been loath to
exert political pressure be-
cause, among other things,
they fear it could foster
,anti-Semitism.
The militants, especially
their more radical fringe,
have been urging French
Jewry to "punish" Giscard
by voting against him in the
Presidential elections next
Year.
Sirat is not identified
with either the tradi-
tionalists, who in fact repre-
sent the French Jewish es-
tablishment, or the milit-
- ants, but he is expected to
adopt policies different from
those of Rabbi Kaplan.
His overriding concern is
to reinforce Jewish identity
in France through Jewish
education. He believes the
best way to protect Judaism
in France is to strengthen
Jewish education.
Re-Elected
TEL AVIV — Moshe
Schnitzer, president of the
Israeli Diamond Exchange,
has been unanimously
elected to a fourth two-year
term as president of the
World Federation of
Diamond Bourses.
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Urge MFN Cut for Romania
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
An expert on Eastern
Europe told Congressmen
that "Romania has made no
fundamental improvement
in emigration since last
summer's public guaran-
tees to American Jewish
organizations" and, there-
fore, most-favored-nation
trade status should not be
extended to that country for
another year.
Opposition to MFN status
for Romania was expressed
by Jacob Birnbaum, na-
tional director of the Center
for Russian and East Euro-
pean Jewry, in testimony-
before the Trade Subcom-
mittee of the House Ways
and Means Committee.
simplification of emigra-
tion procedures, no ces-
sation_ of harassment of
would-be exit applicants
and a "continued, con-
trolled drop in emigra-
tion to Israel" during
1980.
He said the average flow
of 60-70 emigrants monthly
compared unfavorably with
last summer's forecast of
150 monthly and 300-400
monthly during 1973-1974
when the Romanians were
seeking MFN under the
Trade Reform Act as
amended by the Jackson-
Vanik Amendment.
He contended that the
Romanian authorities have
not implemented their
promise to the American
Jewish organizations that
application forms will be
readily available and will
be processed expeditiously."
He said that the Cen-
ter's latest information
showed that there was no
Six Michigan Con-
gressmen joined 68 of their
peers in urging President
Carter to stop the shipment
of U.S. frigate engines for
the Iraqi navy.
The six are: Donald Al-
bosta, William Bonior,
William Brodhead, William
Broomfield, Dale Kildee
and Howard Wolpe.
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Shipment to Iraq
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