Rabbi for 27 years at the Ohel Yaacov synagogue, Haïm Bendao advocates peace in the northern districts of Marseille. A long-term commitment in schools, mosques and churches for an ideal of living together.
5 mins
From our correspondent in Marseille,
Haïm Bendao is hyperactive. It doesn’t take four ways, and you have to follow the rhythm: “ A coffee ? Yes No ? » Highly sought after by his followers, he only sleeps a few hours per night. When he finally takes the time to sit down in a corner of the synagogue he directs, he humbly unfolds the thread of his life in one go. “ I was born in 1972 in Rosny-sous-Bois in Seine-Saint-Denis, to an Egyptian father and a Tunisian mother. » But Haïm Bendao spent his childhood with a Spanish nanny, Madame Ruiz. She becomes his surrogate mother and educates him in a multi-faith context: little Jesus on the dresser, church on Sunday, horse steak on the table. Little Haïm sways like Michael Jackson and listens to AC/DC vinyls on repeat. But at the age of 12, his life took a turning point: he entered the Yeshiva, a school that trains future rabbis. “ I’m dyspraxic: as soon as there are numbers or letters, I don’t understand anything. At the Yeshiva, all we did was talk. I liked it and it started like that. » He then immersed himself in study, sometimes in France, sometimes in New York.
The rabbi of the northern districts
In 1993, he arrived in Marseille to teach and met his future wife there. Married three years later to “ the woman of his life », he immediately took over the Ohel Yaacov synagogue, the only one in the northern districts. Today, he is the father of seven children who make him proud. “ They all had long and successful studies. Its important to me. If I had to do it again, I would have studied near the Yeshiva. » Diplomas however, there are some. Firstly that of specialized educator, “ necessary to work with young people in the neighborhood. »
Apart from a certain greed for the “ banana split », Haïm likes things on a human scale and straightforward discussions. “ If I can’t see you, I’ll tell you. Hit or miss. That’s why it stuck with the northern neighborhoods. I could have gone anywhere and I settled here. »
Haïm spends a lot of time reading. Lately, on stoicism: “ There is not everything in the Torah. You have to open up, because there is a range of people in a community. » To meet his needs, Haïm Bendao produces bottarga, a Mediterranean specialty made from fish eggs. This activity ensures economic freedom, and in fact, freedom of speech: “ My speeches are not focused on what potential donors would want to hear. I’m free. » Today, the synagogue has around 45 faithful, close to the rabbi’s values.
Preaching peace and dialogue
Renowned for his open-mindedness, Haïm Bendao talks to everyone. He applies this vocation of social dialogue by going to churches and mosques. He will even be a prison chaplain for a time. “ By talking, it makes its way. I’m told it’s useless. But I don’t care. I have no obligation to succeed, but I have an obligation to try. » Among the seeds he sows, those in schools. His first intervention in a school dates back to the assassination of Samuel Paty, in the fall of 2020. He goes to a class with an imam and a priest. “ The students had very virulent comments, but thanks to the dialogue, we managed to open minds a little. » Since then, Marseille establishments have regularly called on him to talk about tolerance, forgiveness, and recently about israelo-Palestinian conflict. The students’ questions are always there, Haïm and his outspokenness too.
Since the start of the conflict, Haïm Bendao has continued his work as best he can: “ Some imams have suspended contacts “. But he remains on the lookout, trying to maintain the link. At the synagogue, hate speech is banned. “ I will never accept someone who is Islamophobic. What happened on October 7 is serious. But what happened there is over there. Do not mix everything up. » A point on which he insists to avoid a spread of the conflict in Marseille. The rabbi continues his meetings, sometimes with imams controversial for their anti-Israeli positions on the conflict in Gaza. “ I am told : “but Haim, how can you argue with these people?” But this is precisely where we need to do this work of dialogue. Because nothing is set in stone. » This rabbi « ready to lose everything, but not to shut up », affirms to fight for an ideal of living together.
Some days are more annoying than others, he doesn’t hesitate to go and punch a punching bag for a few hours to let off some steam. But Haïm aspires above all to peace: “ My dream ? It would be a little house on top of a mountain “. And the best memory of his entire life? A morning on the terrace of a café in Corsica, by the sea.