By Andrew Coen
Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Lawrence, who in recent years has helped establish exchange programs in Germany and the Vatican with the North American Board of Rabbis and World Jewish Congress, was in France a week after the murder of 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, meeting with French officials in an effort to establish a similar program with France. Rabbi Rosenbaum's trip included a Feb. 23 visit with French President Jacques Chirac when he attended a ceremony for Halimi in Paris.
On Feb. 13, French police found 23-year-old Halimi naked, handcuffed and covered with burns near railroad tracks in the Essonne region south of Paris. The 23-year old man of Persian Jewish descent died on his way to the hospital. French Authorities say they believe the kidnapping of Halimi by a multiethnic gang was a hate crime.
"I was [at the ceremony] as a show of solidarity with the American Jewish Community," said Rabbi Rosenbaum.
Among the many French officials Rosenbaum visited with included Jean-Marie Lustiger, the former Archbishop of Paris and Father Patrick Dubois, considered one of the leading personalities in Catholic-Jewish relations in Europe, who both had visited Temple Israel of Lawrence a year ago. Rosenbaum said Dubois wants to bring 75 educators to New York City with the North American Board of Rabbis and World Jewish Congress in an attempt to address and remedy some of the anti-American and anti-semitic feelings that exist in much of Europe.
While Rosenbaum was disturbed by Halimi's murder just before his visit with French officials, he was optimistic that through their support for his exchange program, relations with the Jewish community will improve. "The day they had me spend in Paris was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had but at the same time made me hopeful," said Rosenbaum. "These exchange programs bring my young people into the world of an international arena with a sea that they need not only as spectators but rather can be and are important actors on the world stage making a difference in addressing the ills that plague us."
Other French diplomats that Rosenbaum greeted in Paris were Francois Delattre, the Consulate General for France and Lauruent Stefanini, Italy's former Ambassador to the Holy Sea. Rosenbaum also met with Vatican officials in Rome in preparation for Temple Israel's second annual American Jewish-Catholic Youth Exchange program this coming spring and summer.
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