Chief rabbinate of israel

Manasseh’s children come home to Zion - and fulfill a 2,700-year promise - opinion

The aliyah of hundreds of members of the Bnei Menashe community from northeastern India, completes a long and meandering journey that began nearly 2,700 years ago.

PEOPLE AWAIT their Bnei Menashe relatives making aliyah, at Ben-Gurion Airport, 2006.
PHILLIPS and COHEN on their wedding day.

Lost in translation, found in love: Ariana Phillips’s path to marriage in Israel

Three women who arrived in the morning to sit the Rabbinate exams finally do so at a four-hour delay, April 27, 2026

Rabbinate accused of defying court as Israeli women left waiting for exams

A Tzohar kashrut sticker in a window

Tzohar returns to High Court, seeks order compelling Rabbinate to license it as kosher certifier


Recognized by the rabbinate, Orthodox converts trapped in legal limbo over Israeli citizenship

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: “Why do I have to keep proving myself? Am I a second-class Jew?” said an Orthodox converted Jewish woman in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

Women pray at the Western Wall.

Rabbinate seeks retrial on ruling allowing women to take exams, blames 'halachic noncompliance'

The Rabbinate's argument rested on what it presented as firm halachic noncompliance with women taking the exams, as certain topics covered therein are prohibited by nature.

SUPREME COURT Justice Noam Sohlberg attends a ceremony for fallen Israeli soldiers whose burial place is unknown at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on March 6.

A small and insufficient victory: Female Torah scholars - opinion

A public body in which women cannot hold certain roles is invalid according to the principles of democracy and not to be taken seriously.

 Women studying at Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies in Jerusalem.

Gov’t requests three more months to present kashrut law adjustments

The decision has left Tzohar, which requested but did not receive kashrut certification authority, in the dark.

KASHRUT CERTIFICATION at a Jerusalem eatery – will the rabbinate’s monopoly be broken?

Israelis seek alternatives to Chief Rabbinate as elections approach - opinion

The Rabbinate’s establishment's reputation is at a historic low, as elections for the leadership of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel approach.

 A WEDDING is conducted by Chuppot Rabbi Chuck Davidson.

Editor's Notes: Chief rabbis retire but did anybody notice?

The Chief Rabbinate must evolve to address the spiritual and practical needs of all Jews in Israel, regardless of their level of observance.

 END OF AN ERA: Israel’s two chief rabbis conclude their tenure, leaving their positions vacant. (Dalle-E)

Uproar over bill intended to increase religious party's control over rabbinical establishment

The bill in question would effectively give the Chief Rabbinate power to elect these rabbis instead of the local authorities themselves.

 ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi David Lau (left) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef: The silence of our two chief rabbis is thunderously indicative of the abject state of these once meaningful and relevant positions, the writer argues.

Letters to the Editor June 10, 2024: Existential threats

Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.

 Letters

Religious Services Minister agrees to appoint ten women to Chief Rabbinate Electoral Assembly

The 150 Assembly members are composed of 80 Rabbis, who are always men by virtue of their position, and 70 heads of local authorities and religious councils, of which few are women.

ISRAEL’S CHIEF Rabbinate Council, 1959. At its helm sit Ashkenazi chief Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (center, at left) and Sephardi chief Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim (at right).

The Chief Rabbinate office is rife with nepotism, affecting Israeli society - opinion

Accusations of nepotism within Israel's rabbinate intensify amid upcoming elections. This practice, seen in key appointments, raises concerns about fairness and transparency.

 ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi David Lau (left) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef: The silence of our two chief rabbis is thunderously indicative of the abject state of these once meaningful and relevant positions, the writer argues.