List of chief rabbis of Israel and Mandatory Palestine explained

The Chief Rabbi of Israel is a religious appointment that began at the time of the British Mandate in Palestine, and continued through to the State of Israel. The post has two nominees, one for the Ashkenazi communities that came from Europe, and one for the Sefaradic communities from North Africa and the Middle East. In recent times the post has become more political than religious.

List of chief rabbis

Ashkenazi chief rabbis! No! Portrait! Name! Term! Notes
1Abraham Isaac haCohen Kook
1921–1935Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine
2Yitzchak haLevi Herzog
1936–1959Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1919–1936)
First Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel
Father of Israeli president Chaim Herzog
Grandfather of current Israeli president Isaac Herzog
3Isser Yehuda Unterman
1964–1973Chief rabbi of Liverpool and Tel Aviv
4Shlomo Goren
1973–1983Chief Rabbi of the IDF (1948–1968)
5Avraham Shapira
1983–1993
6Yisrael Meir Lau
1993–2003Father of David Lau
7Yona Metzger
2003–2013Later convicted for fraud and served prison sentence
8David Lau
2013–presentSon of Yisrael Meir Lau
Sefardic chief rabbis! No! Portrait! Name! Term! Notes
1Yaacov Meir
1921–1939First Chief Rabbi of Palestine
2Ben-Zion Uziel
1939–1953First Chief Rabbi of Israel
3Yitzchak Nissim
1955–1973Father of former MK, minister and deputy Prime Minister, Moshe Nissim
4Ovadia Yosef
1973–1983Spiritual leader and founder of Shas political party
Father of Yitzchak Yosef
5Mordechai Eliyahu
1983–1993
6Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron
1993–2003Convicted of fraud, sentenced to probation and ordered to pay a NIS 250,000 fine
7Shlomo Amar
2003–2013Related to Yitzchak Yosef by marriage
8Yitzchak Yosef
2013–presentSon of Ovadia Yosef
Related to Shlomo Amar by marriage

Chief Rabbinate Council

The chief rabbis also head the Chief Rabbinate Council. These rabbis are usually appointed from the chief rabbis of major cities or regions in Israel.

Among the roles of the council is giving out kosher certification, nominating rabbis able to perform wedding ceremonies, appointing rabbis of cities and appointing religious judges who are able to sit on a Beth Din.[1]

The current members of the council are:[2]

Chief rabbis of the armed forces

In addition to the Chief Rabbinate, there is also a position as the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces. This individual has a rank of Tat Aluf (Brigadier General).

! Term! Portrait! Name! Notes
1948–1971General Rabbi Shlomo Goren
Chief Rabbi of Israel (1973–1983)
1971–1977General Rabbi Mordechai Piron
1977–2000General Rabbi Gad Navon
2000–2006General Rabbi Yisrael Wiess
2006–2010General Rabbi Avihai Rontzki
2010–2016General Rabbi Rafi Peretz
Head of the Jewish Home political party (2019–21)
2016–presentGeneral Rabbi Eyal Karim
Member of Chief Rabbinate Council

Religious authorities prior to the British Mandate

The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem

In addition to the chief rabbis, there were a number of rabbis who served as the head rabbi in Palestine, or of a particular community

Rishon LeZion 1665–1842[8]

The Hakham Bashi 1842–1918[9]

References

  1. Web site: הרבנות הראשית לישראל מועצת הרבנות הראשית. www.gov.il. 2018-12-08.
  2. Web site: הרבנות הראשית לישראל חברי מועצת הרבנות הראשית. www.gov.il. 2018-12-08.
  3. Encyclopaedia Judaica—"Levi ben Habib"—vol. 11 col. 99; "Berab, Jacob"—vol. 4 cols. 582–4; "Caro, Joseph"—vol. 5 col. 194; "Galante, Moses (I)"—vol. 7 col. 260; "Ashkenazi, Bezalel"—vol. 3 col. 723; jewishencyclopedia.com, "Jerusalem—Jacob Berab and ibn Habib"
  4. Encyclopaedia Judaica—"Cordovero, Gedaliah—vol. 5 col. 967
  5. Encyclopaedia Judaica—"Benjamin, Baruch"—vol. 4 col. 527; "Benjamin, Israel"—vol. 4 col. 528
  6. http://jewishencyclopedia.com, "Jerusalem—Solomon al-Gazi's Description"
  7. Encyclopaedia Judaica—"Garmison, Samuel"—vol. 7 col. 329
  8. Encyclopaedia Judaica—"Rishon Le-Zion" vol. 14 col. 193; jewishencyclopedia.com, "Jerusalem—In the Eighteenth Century" "In the Nineteenth Century" "Albert Cohn and Ludwig Frankl"
  9. Encyclopaedia Judaica "Jews of Jerusalem" "Institutions"; Encyclopaedia Judaica—"Israel, State of"—Religious Life and Communities—vol. 9 cols. 889–90
  10. Laredo, Abraham Isaac. Les noms des Juifs du Maroc, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto "B. Arias Montano," 1978. pg. 184