Rabbi Bernard M. Casper, former dean of students at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was today formally inducted as the new chief rabbi of the Johannesburg United Hebrew Congregation in impressive ceremonies attended by the mayors of Johannesburg and neighboring towns, government officials, Israel Minister Simcha Pratt, the ministers of the leading churches and Jewish communal leaders.
In his address at the ceremony, Rabbi Casper pledged service in God’s name to “a steadfast Jewish community living a full life of freedom in South Africa.” Rabbi Casper, who is a former minister of a West London synagogue, succeeds Rabbi Louis Isaac Rabinowitz, who emigrated to Israel.
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