The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) has finalized preparations for its 29th conference to be held next Tuesday in Toulouse, France, timed to mark 70 years since the Nazi Third Reich surrendered in France.
Attending the conference will be around 200 of the leading rabbis and dayanim (rabbinical judges) in Europe, led by the Head of the European Beit Din (EBD), Rabbi Chanoch Hacohen Ehrentreu, as well as Jewish organization heads from 32 countries.
EBD President Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt said topics to be discussed at the event include fighting assimilation, Judaism among the younger generation, Jewish education and ensuring the safety and future of the Jewish people.
The conference is to last three days, with various discussions and lectures lasting until next Thursday.
It will start with Rabbi Goldshmidt and CER Vice-President Rabbi Haim Korsia, who is the chief rabbi of France, presenting French Prime Minister Manuel Valls with the Lord Jakobovits Prize for his warm relations with the Jewish community in his country - which is the largest Jewish community in Europe.
Another CER Vice-President, Rabbi Ya'akov Dov Bleich, who is the chief rabbi of Ukraine, will lead an event on preserving Jewish identity and fighting anti-Semitism on the first day of the conference.
It will be attended by Antonio Tajani, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, as well as numerous EU dignitaries and politicians, and ambassadors of European nations.
Also speaking at the event will be Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud).
In an event Wednesday honoring the Jewish soldiers who fought in World War Two, Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau is to deliver an address.
