Rabbi David Messas (left) meets with Rabbi Michel Serfaty (center) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in this October 2003 photo. photo/ap/francois mori
Rabbi David Messas, the chief rabbi of Paris for 16 years, died Nov. 20 at 77. He was born in Meknes, Morocco, and was the son of Shalom Messas, a former chief rabbi of Morocco who later served as the Sephardic chief rabbi of Jerusalem.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Messas helped “build a Jewish future in Paris and beyond.” He was chief rabbi of Geneva before being named to the Paris post in 1995.
Messas’ body was flown to Jerusalem, where it was buried Nov. 21. — jta