Prague, Oct 7 (CTK) – Czech Chief Rabbi Karol Sidon was confirmed in his post Wednesday after a 12-month leave he took to settle his family affairs, Tomas Kraus, secretary of the Federation of Jewish Communities Council (RFZO), told CTK Wednesday.
“This has happened and he was confirmed at a meeting of the RFZO in the post by a secret vote,” Kraus said.
A year ago, Sidon resigned as Prague Chief Rabbi, asking for a six-month leave from the post of Czech Chief Rabbi, which he later prolonged by another six months.
“He has resolved his situation. Under the civil law, he is divorced. According to his interpretation, the court decision is to be binding for the rabbinical court, too,” Kraus said.
Under the Jewish law, the civil law of a given country takes precedence over Jewish law.
The media wrote that Sidon’s resignation had been due to his young girlfriend and his recent divorce with his third wife.
When resigning, Sidon argued with his age of 73 years.
Last August, Sidon was replaced by David Peter, who had held the post along with Sidon in the previous three years.
Karol Sidon was born on August 9, 1942. He is also a writer and playwright.
In the 1960s he worked as a journalist in literary magazines. From the 1970s he was among the authors banned by the communist regime. He worked as a blue collar and newspaper vendor.
After signing the Charter 77 pro-democracy manifesto, Sidon was sacked and later employed as a boilerman.
In 1978 Sidon converted to Judaism. In the 1980s, the Czechoslovak communist secret police (StB) forced him into emigrating to Germany. He returned home in the early 1990s, after the collapse of the communist regime.
The pre-1989 period is in focus of his novel Altschul’s Method, the first part of a planned tetralogy, which appeared in Czech bookshops this spring.
