PRATO, DAVID

PRATO, DAVID (1882–1951), rabbi and Zionist leader. Born in Leghorn, Prato was chief cantor in Florence, rabbi of Alexandria (Egypt) from 1927 to 1936, and chief rabbi of Rome from 1936 to 1938. Conditions became impossible for him when the Fascist regime began its antisemitic policy, and Prato moved to Ereẓ Israel. He resumed his post in Rome in 1945. An ardent Zionist, Prato played a prominent part in the administration of the jewish national fund and keren hayesod in Italy. In 1929 he founded in Alexandria the French-Hebrew review L'Illustration Juive, which was followed by Cahiers Juifs in 1933. He published two collections of sermons, Cinque anni di Rabbinato (1933), and Dal pergamo della Comunità di Roma (1950), covering his activities in Rome. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ha-Rav David Prato (1940). (Giorgio Romano)