Former Moscow chief rabbi to receive International Charlemagne Prize

Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt speaks at the awarding of the Josef Neuberger Medal 2022 to H.-J. Watzke in the synagogue. Henning Kaiser/dpa

The president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt, is due to receive the International Charlemagne Prize in the German city of Aachen on Thursday morning.

The Jewish communities in Europe are to be honoured together with the 60-year-old rabbi.

The award is intended to send a signal that Jewish life belongs to Europe and that there should be no place for anti-Semitism in Europe, the Charlemagne Prize board of directors explained in its statement.

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama are expected to give the keynote speech.

The award also honours Goldschmidt's commitment to interreligious exchange, for example with Muslim representatives and Pope Francis.

Goldschmidt was chief rabbi of Moscow for many years. He left the country after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The honour has been awarded for services to Europe since 1950. The award of honour comes with a certificate and a gold medal.

Many former and current heads of state are among the recipients: France's Emmanuel Macron, Poland's Donald Tusk, the late German chancellor Helmut Kohl, former US president Bill Clinton and former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have also received the award.

The award is named after Charlemagne (748-814), whose empire extended over a large part of Western Europe. He often resided in Aachen, now located directly on the border to Belgium and the Netherlands.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH