Joseph Haïm Sitruk (‎; 16 October 1944 – 25 September 2016) was a former Chief Rabbi of France, a position he held from June 1987 to 22 June 2008. Born Joseph Sitruk in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, after suffering a stroke in 2001 and recovering he added the name "''

Haim Haim can be a first name or surname originating in Hebrew or derived from the Old German name Haimo. Etymology Hebrew Chayyim ( ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim, Hayim, Chayim'', or ''Chaim'' (English pronunciat ...

''" to his name in line with Jewish tradition. Sitruk graduated as a rabbi in 1970 following his studies in a rabbinical school, and was named Rabbi of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

before becoming the assistant of the Chief Rabbi Max Warchawski. In 1975, Sitruk became Chief Rabbi of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. In 1987 he was elected to occupy the post of Chief Rabbi of France. He was then re-elected for two more seven-year terms. On 16 March 2007, Sitruk was selected as a Commander of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. Sitruk lost his bid for re-election as Chief Rabbi of France on 22 June 2008, against Rabbi Gilles Bernheim, who had previously run against him on the 1994 Chief Rabbinate elections and failed. Sitruk was Orthodox. Though he may not have held religious and

moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change the princip ...

over all Jews in France, his charisma earned him a certain reverence, especially among

Sephardi Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

. He was married and the father of nine children. He was also the president of the

Conference of European Rabbis The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) is the primary Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbinical alliance in Europe. It unites more than 700 religious leaders of the mainstream synagogue communities in Europe. It was founded in 1956 on the initiati ...

. Sitruk died on 25 September 2016 at the age of 71.Former Chief Rabbi of France, Joseph Sitruk, passes away
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References

1944 births 2016 deaths Chief rabbis of France French Orthodox rabbis Sephardi rabbis Tunisian emigrants to France 20th-century Tunisian rabbis 20th-century French rabbis People from Tunis French people of Tunisian-Jewish descent Commanders of the Legion of Honour 21st-century French rabbis Rabbis from Marseille {{France-rabbi-stub