Rome names a street after historic Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff
Toaff served as Chief Rabbi of Rome from 1951 to 2001. He was instrumental in turning a Jewish community that was still devasted from the Holocaust into a prosperous center of Jewish life.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINInauguration of Elio Toaff Street in Rome in October 2019. (photo credit: COURTESY OF PAGINE EBRAICHE)
The city of Rome on Thursday named a street after Rabbi Elio Toaff, who led the Jewish community of the Italian capital for half a century.The street chosen to honor the rabbi is located in the heart of the Jewish neighborhood, where Toaff lived, only a few meters from the majestic Great Synagogue.Born in Leghorn in 1915, Toaff was appointed chief rabbi of Rome in 1951 and served in the position until 2001. He was instrumental in turning a Jewish community that was still devastated from the Holocaust into a prosperous center of Jewish life.In 1982, the community faced its worst day since the end of the Second World War when a Palestinian commando attacked the synagogue, killing a two-year-old and injuring dozens.Toaff was also a key figure in organizing the first visit of a pope to a synagogue in 2,000 years when he welcomed John Paul II to the Great Synagogue in 1986. Toaff died away in 2015, a few weeks before his 100th birthday.“It is a historic day not only for the Jewish community but for the whole city,” Rome’s mayor Virginia Raggi said during the dedication ceremony, as reported by the Italian Jewish paper Pagine Ebraiche.“Rabbi Toaff left an indelible mark on our history. His example and his open-mindedness influenced us all,” she added, highlighting that the symbolic tribute of a street was also meant to consolidate the bond between Rome and its Jewish community.“In Rome, many streets are dedicated to popes, cardinals and saints; this is the first one dedicated to a rabbi,” Chief Rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni said, according to Pagine Ebraiche.Di Segni added that Toaff was “a rabbi who marked a century, a man of dialogue, but also of firm principles, a man who gave dignity to the community and to the city.”
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