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Yisrael Meir Lau

Two top contenders for the position of Tel Aviv city rabbi. A special committee is set to appoint one of the candidates on April 26, 2026. Left: Rabbi Zevadia Cohen. (Wikipedia) Right: Rabbi Haim Amsalem. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 24, 2026, 2:38 pm
Tel Aviv set to choose new chief rabbi Sunday, with mayor said to favor Shas candidate
After a nine year vacancy, a 64-member panel will choose a candidate, with Mayor Ron Huldai reportedly striking deal with powerful Haredi party to give his support
By Rossella Tercatin
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie dressed in drag, as his alter-ego, the Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross, as seen in 'Sabbath Queen,' a film by Sandi DuBowski. (Courtesy)
February 8, 2025, 2:46 am
From radical drag queen to rabbi, film depicts journey of a Jewish law breaker
‘Sabbath Queen’ follows gay scion of rabbinic dynasty Amichai Lau-Lavie for two decades as he challenges traditional Judaism’s norms and becomes a respected communal leader
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Israel's former chief Ashkenazi rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau shakes hands with Holocaust survivor Felix Goldschmied at the Launceston Synagogue in Launceston, Australia, July 12, 2023. (Mishka Gora via JTA)
July 23, 2023, 4:34 pm
In remote Tasmania, Jews welcome a rare visit from a former Israeli chief rabbi
The first such visit in 72 years is a boost for the small but growing community established by Jewish convicts in 1804 and considered far-flung even by Australian standards
By Nomi Kaltmann
Ukrainian Chief Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich holds a Torah scroll during the opening ceremony of the Babyn Yar synagogue in Kyiv, April 7, 2021. (Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center)
April 9, 2021, 3:54 pm
Collapsible synagogue opens in Ukraine’s Babyn Yar, site of Nazi mass grave
House of prayer inaugurated in ravine where more than 30,000 Jews were murdered; structure can be quickly erected or dismantled so it doesn’t impose on the territory
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau receives a COVID-19 vaccine, at Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center on December 20, 2020 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
January 17, 2021, 8:11 am
Former Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau tests positive for coronavirus
Announcement comes after spiritual leader received 2nd dose of vaccine, which only becomes 95% effective a number of days after the follow-up shot
By ToI Staff
The empty roads of Tel Aviv during a nationwide lockdown, January 16, 2021. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
January 16, 2021, 11:44 pm
Blue and White, Haredi parties said to oppose extending lockdown beyond Thursday
Cabinet to meet later this week to decide how to proceed, as Health Ministry pushes to keep restrictions in place; 44 new fatalities reported over weekend
By ToI Staff
Former prime minister Ehud Barak (2nd right) eulogizes Eitan Haber, Tel Aviv, October 13, 2020 (Screen grab/Ynet)
October 13, 2020, 3:28 pm
Journalist, Rabin aide Haber remembered as model of unity in polarized times
Top political adviser and writer who announced PM’s assassination is eulogized at funeral for his willingness to help anyone who asked, inspiring next generation of reporters
By ToI Staff
The funeral of Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, who died from complications of COVID-19, at the Har Hamenuhot cemetery in Jerusalem, April 13, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 13, 2020, 1:28 pm
Former chief rabbi Bakshi-Doron laid to rest in front of handful of mourners
Just 20 family members and senior rabbis allowed at funeral in Jerusalem after COVID-19 death; ‘There was nobody as honest as you,’ eulogizes Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
By ToI Staff
Rabbi David Lau, chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Israel, lights Hanukkah candles in the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s Parliament, on Dec. 5, 2018. (Eli Mandelbaum via JTA)
December 6, 2018, 7:43 pm
Israeli chief rabbi lights Hanukkah candles at Polish parliament
Rabbi David Lau, son of Polish-born Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, says candle-lighting brings him full circle
By JTA
MK Rachel Azaria speaking at a panel discussion at the Schecter Institute on April 30, 2018 concerning the need for Israel to still find its' Jewish identity. (Eyal Weiss/Schecter Institute of Jewish Studies)
May 1, 2018, 6:59 pm
Event meant to build bridges between Israel and Diaspora goes up in flames
A panel discussion hosted by JTS and the Schechter Institute on the religious divide between American Jewry and Israel becomes a microcosm of the widening rift
By Tracy Frydberg
Members of the Salomon family attend the circumcision of their son, Ari, in the central Israel city of Elad, on July 27, 2017. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
July 27, 2017, 10:36 pm
Hundreds attend circumcision of Salomon baby, born day before terror attack
Child receives middle name after his late grandfather, Yosef, killed in Halamish by Palestinian terrorist; aunt, uncle also murdered in stabbing
By Jacob Magid
Holocaust survivor Ruth Zimmerman expresses her anguish over the gassing of Syrian children. (Facebook video)
April 24, 2017, 6:53 pm
Holocaust survivors decry indifference to Syrian war
Young Israelis partner with Nazi victims to send Holocaust Remembrance Day message to world leaders
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Illustrative: Youths take part in the March of the Living at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, on April 24, 2017. (Yossi Zeliger/March of the Living)
April 24, 2017, 3:15 pm
10,000 youths mark Holocaust Remembrance Day at Auschwitz
Education minister tells participants of annual commemoration at site of Nazi death camp that Israel will be an ‘Iron Dome’ to protect Jews
By ToI Staff and AP
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, attends a ceremony for a new Torah scroll brought to the synagogue of the Knesset on June 9, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 6, 2017, 3:41 pm
Former chief rabbi: What’s happening in Syria is a holocaust
A Holocaust survivor himself, Yisrael Meir Lau calls for emergency Knesset session; Yad Vashem expresses ‘deep concern’ over ‘carnage’
By Jacob Magid
Friends, family members, and politicians attend the funeral of Yaakov Neeman, an Israeli lawyer, justice minister and finance minister, at Heichal Shlomo in Jerusalem, on January 2, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
January 2, 2017, 4:03 pm
Former minister buried at Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives
Yaakov Neeman, who died at 77, praised as a ‘man of wisdom and reason’ and a lover of Israel in eulogies prior to his funeral
By ToI Staff
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