Rabbi François Garai was born in 1945 in Paris. He received the title of rabbi in June 1968 and then came to Geneva with his wife Nicole. He was the first progressive rabbi in Switzerland and led the English-speaking Jewish Community of Geneva.
In 1970, he created the francophone speaking Liberal Community: GIL (Jewish Liberal Community of Geneva) and has been the rabbi since then.
He helped form several liberal communities in France (Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble, Strasbourg).
Rabbi François Garai has published «Le monde des Mitzvot», (The World of Mitzvot) and «Le Monde de l’Ethique» (The World of Ethics). He has also coordinated the publishing of the daily prayer book and the high holidays machzors which are used in most of the French speaking liberal Jewish communities. English versions of many of them have also been prepared.
He has presided over the “Bureau European du Mouvement pour le Judaism Liberal” (European Bureau of the Movement for Liberal Judaism)” and contributed to the creation of the “Plateform Inter-religieuse de Genève “(Inter-religious Platform of Geneva) and of the “Appel spiritual de Genève”.
