Chief rabbi

Argentina's Sephardi chief rabbi reaffirms 100-year-old ruling on conversions, sparks controversy

A controversial ruling in Argentina reaffirms a 100-year-old conversion ban, fueling tensions between Orthodox and non-Orthodox movements.

Facade of Templo de la Libertad synagogue, Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 2, 2018
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III shares a laugh with President Isaac Herzog.

Grapevine, January 16, 2026: Christian ‘Who’s Who’ in Israel

 SUPREME COURT President Isaac Amit presides over a hearing last Tuesday on petitions against the cabinet’s firing of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.

High Court freezes Tel Aviv chief rabbi election, citing flawed consultation process

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, alongside David Fattal, chats with Assaf and Nadav Fattal.

Grapevine, December 26, 2025: In his father’s footsteps


Shas are seeking to deepen their grip over state religious institutions - opinion

The state-religious infrastructure has been used systematically to build a political power base.

 MK ARYE DERI leads a parliamentary faction meeting of his Shas party, in the Knesset, last month.

Israel's chief rabbi elections tainted by personal interests - opinion

Instead of passing laws that help the people and the nation, its members are focused on helping themselves, or in the case of the chief rabbinate, one of their brothers.

 MK ARYE DERI is in a bind, says the writer. On the one hand he has the opportunity to appoint his brother as chief rabbi, but that would put him at odds with the Yosef family, his political patrons.

Sephardi Chief Rabbi says Ben-Gvir's Temple Mount visits 'cause sin'

The Sephardi chief rabbi has attacked Ben-Gvir for the minister's activism for Temple Mount visits in the past.

 National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits the Temple Mount, May 21, 2023

'Wombs for rent': Opposition MK decries the lack of female reps on religious councils

Biton made the comments during a verbal scuffle between Labor Party MK Gilad Kariv and ultra-Orthodox coalition members.

 MK Dvora Biton taken out by Knesset guards during a a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting on the planned judicial reform, at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on June 25, 2023

Chief Rabbinate election delay bill passes first reading

According to Israeli law, the chief rabbis serve for 10 years, and religious councils for five years.

 ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef at an event in Jerusalem earlier this year. Who is lining up to replace them?

Israel's extreme religious Zionists don't recognize the value of women - opinion

This week, it became blatantly clear that the more extreme elements of religious Zionism have yet to recognize the valuable and even crucial contribution women can make.

 Channel 14 workers and supporters protest against Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid outside Tel Aviv Government Complex on October 11, 2022.

Israel's chief rabbi elections to be delayed by at least six months - report

Chief rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef were set to end their 10-year terms at the Chief Rabbinate in 2023.

 ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef at an event in Jerusalem earlier this year. Who is lining up to replace them?

Vladimir Putin presents Russian army's chief rabbi with a state award

This award was given to Gurevich while Russia is currently at war with Ukraine and a very sensitive time for Jews in Russia.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference in Minsk, Belarus December 19, 2022.

Keeping Shabbat is the key to achieving Jewish nirvana, new book says

South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein’s book challenges readers to observe Shabbat.

 Shabbat (Illustrative).

Diaspora Rabbis: Change age limit for candidates for Chief Rabbi

Favored Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi candidate unable to compete due to being over the age limit, the government-proposed alternative is less popular.

THE HEADQUARTERS of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem, as seen here in 2013.