BRUSSELS (EJP)---European Commission President José Manuel Barroso wished “Chag Shavuot Sameach” (Joyous Festival of Shavuot) to all Jewish communities around Europe, during a ceremony Wednesday dedicating the Brussels main synagogue as “Great Synagogue of Europe.”
Speaking as guest of honor at the dedication solemn ceremony, attended by chief rabbis from a number of European countries, religious leaders of other faiths, diplomats, MEPs, Belgian politicians and members of the Jewish community, Barroso was applauded by the assistance when he concluded his speech with words in Hebrew.
Jews around the world will celebrate next week the holiday of Shavuot which marks the anniversary of the day when the Jewish people received the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Barroso unveiled a special plaque bearing his name marking the event and signed a document of dedication along with Chief Rabbi Albert Guigi, Britain's chief rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, and two witnesses from the local Jewish community.
Addressing the congregation, the EU leader welcomed the initiative taken by the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) to dedicate the synagogue and said he was very sensitive to this gesture, calling it a "testimony of confidence towards Europe."
He stressed the "essential role" played by the Jews in the a united Europe after the Holocaust. "History and culture of Europe owe a lot to the Jews," he said.
Barroso added: "More than ever before, the world needs inter-cultural dialogue. Europe and its institutions contribute to it. The actors in civil society need to very actively participate in this, and religious traditions have their role to play."
Sir Jonathan Sacks, vice-president of the Conference of European Rabbis, thanked Barroso for his presence which, he said, "shows how much do you value your Jewish community."
He added: "After the Holocaust, Jews could so easily have said:there is no place for us here in Europe. Instead, they turned to the future, determined to rebuild at least a fragment of what had been destroyed. And that may yet be the greatest single gift of Jews and Judaism to the Europe of today: the principled defeat of tragedy in the name of hope."
After Cantor Benjamin Muller from Antwerp recited ‘El Mole Rahamim’, a memorial prayer for the six million Jews exterminated by the Nazis in WWII, Rabbi Guigui said Europe’s message to the Jews should be “no more this again,"
Wednesday’s ceremony included the reading of a special-drafted “Prayer for Europe” by Cantor Muller and the Choir of the European Union.
"Lord, bless and protect Europe and all the residents of the European Union," says the prayer written by chief rabbi René Gutman of Strasbourg.
It adds : "May Europe live happy and prosperous, may it be great and strong through union and concord ... May Europe remain faithful to its vocation and defend the rule of law and liberty everywhere."
Full and active citizens
The decision to grant the European title to the Brussels synagogue, located on rue de la Régence, in the city’s centre, is in the tradition of the 19th century building of "great synagogues" in European cities, symbolizing the fact that Jews were full and active citizens of their country.
Today they are full and active citizens of Europe.
The dedication is seen as a response to Barroso's initiative to engage all religious communities into an interfaith dialogue to promote tolerance and understanding.
The "Great Synagogue of Europe" will be used for pan-European events, the CER said.
Around 2.5 million Jews live in Europe, the largest communities being in France, Russia, Ukraine, Britain and Germany.
The Brussels synagogue, often described as a "stately Romanesque" building, was designed by architect Désiré De Keyser and completed in 1878.
The facade features a three-storied gabled midsection flanked by four-story towers. This ornate building also houses several Jewish institutions, including the Consistoire and the “Communauté Israélite de Bruxelles” (Jewish community of Brussels).
Around 20,000 Jews live in the Belgian capital.
