Turkey’s Jewish community installed David Sevi as its chief rabbi on Thursday during a ceremony at Istanbul’s Neve Shalom synagogue, nearly a year after the death of his predecessor, Ishak Haleva.

Sevi, 70, who was acting chief rabbi since Haleva’s Jan. 14 death, is the fourth hakham bashi since the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and the 34rd in office since the days of the Ottoman Empire.

Sevi was elected in September after the city’s Jewish community held an internal election, Israel’s Arutz 7 reported. The rabbi was chosen unanimously, with no other candidates running for the position.

He was born to a family with deep roots in Turkey and is a member of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States . Sevi has worked for decades to promote Jewish education, preserve the

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