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
1 Abraham Isaac haCohen Kook
(1865–1935) 		1921–1935 Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine
2 Yitzchak haLevi Herzog
(1888–1959) 		1936–1959 Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1919–1936)
First Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel
Father of Israeli president Chaim
Grandfather of current Israeli president Isaac
3 Isser Yehuda Unterman
(1886–1976) 		1964–1973 Chief rabbi of Liverpool and Tel Aviv
4 Shlomo Goren
(1917–1994) 		1973–1983 Chief Rabbi of the IDF (1948–1968)
5 Avraham Shapira
(1914–2007) 		1983–1993
6 Yisrael Meir Lau
(born 1937) 		1993–2003 Father of David Lau
7 Yona Metzger
(born 1953) 		2003–2013 Later convicted for fraud and served prison sentence
8 David Lau
(born 1966) 		2013–present Son of Yisrael Meir Lau
Sefardic chief rabbis
No Portrait Name Term Notes
1 Yaacov Meir
(1856–1939) 		1921–1939 First Chief Rabbi of Palestine
2 Ben-Zion Uziel
(1880–1953) 		1939–1953 First Chief Rabbi of Israel
3 Yitzchak Nissim
(1896–1981) 		1955–1973 Father of former MK, minister and deputy Prime Minister, Moshe Nissim
4 Ovadia Yosef
(1920–2013) 		1973–1983 Spiritual leader and founder of Shas political party
Father of Yitzchak Yosef
5 Mordechai Eliyahu
(1929–2010) 		1983–1993
6 Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron
(1941–2020) 		1993–2003 Convicted of fraud, sentenced to probation and ordered to pay a NIS 250,000 fine
7 Shlomo Amar
(born 1948) 		2003–2013 Related to Yitzchak Yosef by marriage
8 Yitzchak Yosef
(born 1952) 		2013–present Son of Ovadia Yosef
Related to Shlomo Amar by marriage

Chief Rabbinate Council

Further information: Chief Rabbinate of Israel

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

Further information: Military Rabbinate

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
1948–1971 General Rabbi Shlomo Goren
(1917–1994) 		Chief Rabbi of Israel (1973–1983)
1971–1977 General Rabbi Mordechai Piron
(1921–2014)
1977–2000 General Rabbi Gad Navon
(1922–2006)
2000–2006 General Rabbi Yisrael Wiess
(born 1949)
2006–2010 General Rabbi Avihai Rontzki
(1951–2018)
2010–2016 General Rabbi Rafi Peretz
(born 1956) 		Head of the Jewish Home political party (2019–21)
2016–present General Rabbi Eyal Karim
(born 1957) 		Member of Chief Rabbinate Council

Religious authorities prior to the British Mandate

The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem

Further information: 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

The Hakham Bashi 1842–1918

References

  1. ^ "הרבנות הראשית לישראל | מועצת הרבנות הראשית". www.gov.il. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  2. ^ "הרבנות הראשית לישראל | חברי מועצת הרבנות הראשית". www.gov.il. Retrieved 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
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