Elio Toaff, Rome’s former chief rabbi and the leading figure of Italian Jewry for decades, has passed away eleven days before his 100th birthday. He served as chief rabbi of the Eternal City for 51 years until 2002, after having been as the chief rabbi of Venice.
Toaff was a friend of the late Pope John Paul II, who mentioned the chief rabbi in his testament. On 13 April 1986, Toaff was greeted by, and prayed with, Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome, the first by a Catholic pontiff to a Jewish house of worship. On 7 April 1994, Toaff co-officiated at the Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah at the Sala Nervi in Vatican City, along with Pope John Paul II, and the president of Italy, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
Rabbi Toaff remained friends with John Paul until the pontiff's death, and attended his funeral. He was one of the two people who the pope mentioned in his last will and testament, in which he stated: “How can I fail to remember the rabbi of Rome, and the numerous representatives of non-Christian religions?”
During World War II, Elio Toaff, who escaped deportation to the death camps, had activelty fought with the Italian Resistance against the Nazi occupation.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder called him "the shining light of Italian Jewry for many, many decades” who had been one of the architects of better relations with the Catholic Church. “We can safely say that without him we would not have the close relationship with successive popes. He broke the ice, but also always was a proud Jew who upheld and defended our traditions and customs when they were being questioned. His voice will be sadly missed,” Lauder declared.
Renzo Gattegna, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities: "We mourn at this time the disappearance of an extraordinary man. A towering figure, a leader, a spiritual guide who marked his time and the time of generations to come. The gestures and teachings that have characterized the long life of Rabbi Toaff represent one of the high points in history, not only of Italian Jewry, but of all mankind. Thanks for everything. "
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also paid tribute to the late chief rabbi, tweeting:“My thoughts are for Rabbi Elio Toaff, a great Italian citizen and the symbol of the Italian Jewish community." On Sunday, Renzi went to the Great Synagogue of Rome and then, accompanied by the president of Rome's Jewish community, Riccardo Pacifici, proceeded to the house of deceased.
Toaff will be laid to rest in his birth city of Livorno later on Monday, but his coffin is to be put for public viewing in the morning under the colonnades of the Great Synagogue of Rome to mourners to pay for their last respects.
“He was a man of reconstruction, a giant of the past country who also fought in the Resistance [against the Nazi occupation]. He led the Jewish revival in Rome after the Shoah, restored dignity and grandeur that we thought we had lost forever," declared Pacifici.
