Liberal Jews picket Paris synagogue hosting Jerusalem chief rabbi

Several dozen people attend a Paris demonstration protesting French communal leaders’ welcoming of a deeply conservative Orthodox rabbi from Israel.

Approximately 40 Jewish protesters, some of them affiliated with Liberal congregations, join the rally outside the Buffault synagogue in Paris ahead of the arrival there of Shlomo Amar, a former chief rabbi of Israel and current chief rabbi of Jerusalem, with signs protesting what they said were misogynist and divisive statements he had made.

Amar has visited the French capital many times before. This was the first time that he was met by Jewish protesters, according to the La Croix daily.

Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar speaks at the mixed gender Western Wall plaza, on June 14, 2016. (screen capture: Ynet)

Earlier this month, Amar equated Reform Jews with Holocaust deniers in an address concerning demands by followers of Liberal Judaism for changes in the rules of worship at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Amar has also called homosexuals “crazies” and “obscene people,” and has said that women are made to care for children and provide for their families so that men may become “great sages” in studying the Torah.

— JTA