Tributes to ‘pillar’ of leading Paris school
ONE OF France’s leading Chabad figures died from coronavirus over Shabbat, the movement announced on Saturday.
André Touboul was the headmaster of Beit Hanna, one of France’s largest Jewish secondary schools, and had been admitted to hospital last week. Also known as Massoud Touboul, he was reportedly in his sixties.
Because of restrictions imposed by the French Health Ministry, Mr Touboul was due to be buried without purification rites, shiva, or a minyan to recite kaddish. He is survived by his wife Bracha, and nine children, including popular Chasidic music producer Levi Touboul.
Mr Touboul was born in Marseille and studied mathematics at university, and oversaw the synagogue attached to Beit Hanna.
Hassidout, the French language organ for the ChabadLubavitch movement, described Mr Touboul as a “pillar”.
Anne Hidalgo, the
Mayor of Paris, was among those paying tribute: “It is
André Touboul with great sadness that I learn of the death of André Touboul. I think of his kindness and his professionalism. All my support and my affection to his family, to his friends and to the school community.”
Jack Yves Bohbot, the Vice President of the Consistoire, the representative body of French Jews said that his death was a “very great loss for the French Jewish community. My most sincere condolences to his family and to the Lubavitch movement that he served so much.” Other Jewish community leaders have also contracted coronavirus in France, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe. This week Maurice Daha, the president of the Jewish community in Alsace, remained in a critical condition.
As of Wednesday evening, there were over 25,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France. 1,331 people have died after having contracted it. Mr Touboul’s death on Saturday followed that of Milanese Jewish leader Michele Sciama the previous week.