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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 627

Chief Rabbinate of Israel

Yehuda Cohen, director general of the Chief Rabbinate. (Chief Rabbinate)
May 28, 2025, 3:03 pm
PM’s pick for acting Civil Service head is under investigation by the Civil Service
Chief Rabbinate director ignored legal adviser’s instructions on at least three occasions. NGO says appointment as acting commissioner would be ‘unprecedented conflict of interest’
By Jeremy Sharon
Yehuda Cohen, director general of the Chief Rabbinate. (Chief Rabbinate)
May 27, 2025, 8:54 pm
PM taps Chief Rabbinate director general as acting Civil Service commissioner
Netanyahu asks attorney general for legal opinion on appointment within 24 hours, amid ongoing battle with judiciary over filling of position
By ToI Staff
The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court seen on August 3, 2017. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
March 6, 2025, 12:53 pm
Half of Israelis in rabbinical courts say they were wronged – survey
According to a study by the ITIM nonprofit, one in five Israelis also report their connection to Judaism was negatively impacted by the experience
By Rossella Tercatin
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu attends Lag Ba'omer celebrations in the northern city Safed, May 26, 2024 (David Cohen/Flash90)
February 19, 2025, 4:34 pm
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis secure majority in Israel’s top Jewish legal body
Chief Rabbinate Council is the main authority on Jewish law for government and religious services; head of advocacy group says new members all appear to back religious status quo
By Rossella Tercatin and Sam Sokol
Rabbi Yona Metzger arrives to enter the Maasiyahu Prison in Ramla, to serve his 3.5 year sentence over corruption issues on May 1, 2017. (Roy Alima/Flash90)
February 19, 2025, 8:26 am
Police investigate former chief rabbi Metzger on suspicion he molested teenage boy
Complaint reportedly filed against 71-year-old by youth he met on the beach; ex-chief rabbi has been accused of harassment in the past, was convicted of bribery offenses
By ToI Staff
The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court seen on August 3, 2017. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
February 4, 2025, 2:40 pm
Amid war, divorce rates jumped 6.5% last year, rabbinate says
Rabbinical courts obtained writs of divorce for 221 women in 2024 whose husbands had refused to hand them over, says authority, which holds monopoly over Jewish divorce in Israel
By ToI Staff
The elections of Israel's new chief rabbis in Jerusalem, September 29, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
December 11, 2024, 7:34 pm
Feminist groups decry law setting quota for women in assembly that elects chief rabbis
Billed as an effort to increase female representation, measure actually serves to disenfranchise female Torah scholars, say critics
By Sam Sokol
Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli attends a plenum session on the so-called Rabbis Bill in the Knesset, November 12, 2024. (Goldberg/Flash90)
November 12, 2024, 6:58 pm
Inside the year-long struggle to pass Shas’s controversial ‘Rabbis Bill’
Critics say legislation that would allow the religious services minister to allocate additional funds to religious councils is ‘essentially a jobs bill with a blank check’
By Sam Sokol
Rabbi Kalman Ber attends a vote for the new Chief Ashkenazi rabbi, at the Chief Rabbinate headquarters in Jerusalem, October 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
October 31, 2024, 8:02 pm
Ultra-Orthodox-backed Kalman Ber chosen as Ashkenazi chief rabbi in runoff
Top Netanya cleric beats out Rabbi Micha Halevi, who drew anger from religious Zionists by reneging on promise to stay out of race, after initial balloting ended in tie
By Mati Wagner and ToI Staff
Committee members at the elections for Israel's new chief rabbis in Jerusalem, September 29, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
October 30, 2024, 4:10 pm
Divisive, long-delayed election for chief rabbi to proceed Thursday
Over a year late, the vote for Israel’s top Ashkenazi authority seems to be on track amid political strife and broken commitments
By Mati Wagner
Election envelopes at the elections for Israel's new chief rabbis in Jerusalem, September 29, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
October 8, 2024, 6:00 pm
Following inconclusive vote, AG demands second round in chief rabbi election
Call for runoff comes after a single miscast ballot left rabbis Micha Halevi and Kalman Ber with 40 votes apiece in last Sunday’s Chief Rabbinical election
By Sam Sokol
Son of late Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi David Yosef, leaves after giving a Torah lesson during a visit to Safed, November 16, 2017. (David Cohen/Flash90)
September 29, 2024, 11:48 pm
David Yosef elected as Sephardic chief rabbi, the third from his family in the role
Second round for Ashkenazi chief rabbi to be held next week, following tied vote; election held after disagreements and competing political deals kept positions vacant since July
By Gavriel Fiske
Ballots are seen at the elections for Israel's new chief rabbis in Jerusalem, September 29, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
September 29, 2024, 5:01 pm
Election underway for new chief rabbis, after repeated delays and political deals
Results to be announced Sunday evening; election of Ashkenazi and Sephardi religious leaders for 10-year term comes after disagreements kept roles vacant since July
By Gavriel Fiske
Rabbi Micha Halevi speaks at a ceremony in a religious school in Petah Tikva, May 17, 2023. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
September 28, 2024, 1:00 pm
Lead candidate for chief rabbi in legal hot water due to unkosher loan — report
Nonprofit run by Rabbi Micha Halevi loaned NIS 100,000 to company that pays kashrut inspectors in Petah Tikva, where he heads local rabbinate; chief rabbi vote set for Sunday
By ToI Staff
FILE — A woman arranging voting slips for the Chief Rabbinate election. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
September 9, 2024, 9:05 pm
Lawmakers vote to extend term of Chief Rabbinate Council until end of 2024
Critics dismiss law as attempt to allow conservative religious elements to gain greater control over composition of the Chief Rabbi Election Assembly and sideline women
By Sam Sokol
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