Turkish chief rabbi Ishak Haleva has died at the age of 84, the country’s chief rabbinate says.
Haleva had been the chief rabbi of Turkey since 2002, when he replaced David Asseo. He served as a member of the Presidium Council of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, and lectured on Jewish history and Hebrew at Marmara University and Sakarya University.
Members of the Turkish Jewish community, which numbers around 14,500, mourn him on social media, saying that he was well-loved and known for his interfaith dialogue efforts.
Haleva was born in Istanbul in 1940 and was ordained as a rabbi in Israel by former chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef after studying at Yeshiva Porat Yosef in Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife and four sons.
No word has been given on who will replace him.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
