Chief rabbi

Inheriting moral instincts: How choices become a legacy – opinion

Our descendants absorb what we choose to do in times of crisis: they act based on what they watched us forgive, defend, and risk for others.

|ByKENNETH BRANDER
A rabbi blows a shoat ahead of Yom Kippur at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2026.
REUVEN WABASHAT, Israel’s chief rabbi of the Ethiopian community, is seen in Jerusalem in 2018.

Could an Ethiopian Israeli become prime minister, president, or chief rabbi? - opinion

An Ethiopian Israeli should also be capable of leading a major Zionist or Jewish institution, and should appear on CNN, Fox News, the BBC, or Sky News.

|BySHMUEL LEGESSE
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod, Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Moldova.

Moldova hires first chief rabbi in 12 years, new chapter for revived Jewish community - interview

Chabad played an instrumental in Moldova since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022, providing support for refugees, coordinating travel and in general providing a base for those in need.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
KASHRUT CERTIFICATION at a Jerusalem eatery – will the rabbinate’s monopoly be broken?

Knesset repeals 2021 kashrut reform, restores Rabbinate control over certification

Under the law, official kashrut certificates may be issued by the Chief Rabbinate Council, authorized local rabbis, and, within the IDF, the Military Rabbinate.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN

Diaspora Rabbis: Change age limit for candidates for Chief Rabbi

Favored Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi candidate unable to compete due to being over the age limit, the government-proposed alternative is less popular.

MAY 11, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
THE HEADQUARTERS of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem, as seen here in 2013.

Only give funding to places with synagogues - Israeli chief rabbi to new minister

Israeli Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef told new Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to be subtle about the instruction because it wasn't legal.

APRIL 23, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends a rally against Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana conversion and kashrut reforms plan, at the International Convention Center, on February 1, 2022.

Judaism is the foundation of Israel, not democracy, former chief rabbi claims

The conference, entitled "Reconnecting," brought together Knesset members on the left and the right with the aim of fostering dialogue.

MARCH 19, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, chief rabbi of Tel Aviv at a Menorah Lighting Ceremony on the fourth night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, at the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv, December 1, 2021.

Sephardi chief rabbi warns of Israel civil war, calls for peace

The rabbi said that while he does not get involved in politics, he believes that all sides need to come to the table and hold dialogue with each other.

MARCH 19, 2023ByYAKI ADAMKAR/WALLA, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends a rally against Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana conversion and kashrut reforms plan, at the International Convention Center, on February 1, 2022.

Frankfurt Chief Rabbi gives speech to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Rabbi Avichai Apel of Frankfurt gave a powerful speech to commemorate the 78th International Holocaust Remembrance Day at a commemoration on Tuesday.

JANUARY 27, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
The gathering of the European Commission on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Chief Rabbi: Cultured meat is considered a vegetable but can't be consumed with dairy

Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau has decided to allow those keeping kosher to eat cultured meat and claimed that it is like eating a vegetable.

JANUARY 19, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
Bacon cheeseburger

UK Chief Rabbi to receive knighthood from King Charles III

The Chief Rabbi is one of several Jews to receive a slot on the annual New Year's Honours List.

DECEMBER 31, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
King Charles III speaks to Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis as he meets with faith leaders during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London. September 16, 2022.

What will be impact if Rabbinate picks IDF chief rabbi? - analysis

The issue could be making a mountain out of a molehill. Yet, it could also be a case of some of the political class trying to dress up a future major strike on the IDF’s independence.

DECEMBER 25, 2022ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
SEPHARDI CHIEF Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef delivers an address. ‘I feel that it’s important for me to remind Rabbi Yosef that Israel was established to bring Jews in the Diaspora close to her, not to ostracize them,’ says the writer.

Jewish people from all over the world are family, we are family - opinion

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef called Conservative and Reform Judaism a "new religion," earlier this month.

DECEMBER 21, 2022ByNOLAN LEBOVITZ
SEPHARDI CHIEF Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef delivers an address. ‘I feel that it’s important for me to remind Rabbi Yosef that Israel was established to bring Jews in the Diaspora close to her, not to ostracize them,’ says the writer.

Who will be Israel's next chief rabbis?

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: Next summer, Israel’s chief rabbis, David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef, will end their 10-year terms.

DECEMBER 16, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef at an event in Jerusalem earlier this year. Who is lining up to replace them?