Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, a leading figure in postwar Italian Judaism, has died.
A child survivor of the Holocaust, Laras died today at 82. He had served from 1980 to 2005 as the chief rabbi of Milan and was the president emeritas of the Italian Rabbinical Assembly.
Rabbi Giuseppe Laras attending the “Nonna Carla” book launch in Milan, Italy, February 9. 2010. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images via JTA)
In an essay prepared for release on his death and published today on the Milan Jewish community news website, Laras warned that Italian Jewry is in crisis and needed a “new architecture” to face upcoming challenges. He laments the “high level” of discord and resentment among Italian Jews, calling it “our great failure.”
Laras also noted alienation from Jewish religious observance and institutions, and deep psychological, economic and other difficulties among community members.
Italy’s Jewish community numbers some 25,000 to 30,000. Milan, with around 7,000, has the second largest community after Rome, which is home to about half of Italy’s Jews.
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