Rabbi Paul Roitman

Paul (Pinchas) Roitman (1920 - 2007 ) was aPolish born, French rabbi and a member of the Resistance.

In 1938, Paul starts studying medicine, but due to the war, stops three years later. In 1940 he fled to Toulouse, where he was recruited into the Jewish (Resistance) Army. Arrested in December 1942 by the Nazi’s, he was interned in Fort du Hâ near Bordeaux, transferred to the French internment camp of Merignac , Gironde and released by miracle (the day before Purim ) on intervention by his younger brother Leo Roitman, one of the heroes of the Jewish Resistance.

Toulouse, 1942

In January 1945 , he married Leah Schleicher, a young social worker who worked with him in the Resistance . The couple moved to Paris.

Paul decides to dedicate his life to the Jewish people. He entered the Israelite Seminary of France with the intention of working with youth as a rabbi, but by the end of 1947, he leaves the rabbinate to devote himself to education.

In 1970, Paul Roitman emigrated to Israel and amongst many other activities, founded the youth movement Tzedek , which over the years dealt with more than 20,000 children, including immigrants from Ethiopia and Russia.

Rabbi Paul Roitman with his fiancee Lea

Paul Roitman died August 21, 2007 (7 Elul 5767) in Jerusalem .