Moïse Lévy (August 12, 1915 – September 29, 2003) was a

Sephardi Jewish 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 ...

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

who led the Jewish community in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo for 53 years.Hommages su
karibouni.info
4 mai 2013, consulté le 9 avril 2014

Biography

Lévy was born on August 12, 1915, in

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He grew up on the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

which, at the time, was under Italian control. There he began his rabbinical studies. At age 22, having been ordained as a Rabbi, he left Rhodes for the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

(modern-day

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

) where a small Jewish community, composed mostly of

Sephardic 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 ...

from Rhodes, had settled in Élisabethville (modern-day Lubumbashi)., n° 16 He became the first Rabbi in the Congo in 1937 and, in 1953, was named

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of the Belgian Congo,

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a geopolitical entity, once part of German East Africa, that was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under milit ...

, and

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

. He organized prayers, rites of passage and maintained Jewish life in the area. In the event of a dispute between members of the community, he served as a mediator and his judgements were accepted as final, thus avoiding having to involve the colonial administration. The Rabbi built a sphere of influence far outside his community in Southern Congo. During the colonial period, provincial governors regularly consulted him. He had audiences with both

King Leopold III Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasio ...

and King Baudouin. When the colony became independent in 1960,

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

attempted to secede from the country.

Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of ...

, leader of the

State of Katanga The State of Katanga (; ), also known as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Republic of Congo (Léopoldville), Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moïse Tshombe, leader of the local CO ...

, remembered the Rabbi for ruling in his favor during a dispute in his youth, and entrusted Levy with the diplomatic missions of France, the United States, and Israel. Following the rise of

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

and the creation of

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

in 1965, Levy continued to have good relations with the local authorities and was named to the National Order of the Leopard. Following the collapse of

in the

First Congo War The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republi ...

in 1991, Levy decided to leave the country for

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

where he retired. He died in 2003., n° 16

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1915 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Belgian Jews 20th-century Italian rabbis Belgian Congo people 20th-century Belgian rabbis Belgian Sephardi Jews Democratic Republic of the Congo Jews 20th-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Democratic Republic of the Congo people of Greek-Jewish descent Greek Sephardi Jews History of Katanga People from Antalya People from Rhodes People of Turkish-Jewish descent Sephardi rabbis 20th-century Sephardi Jews