Rabbinate

Chief Rabbinate Council disputes Tzohar kashrut approval hours after authorization

“The approval was granted unlawfully and did not go through the Chief Rabbinate Council as required,” Director General of the Ministry of Religious Services Yehuda Avidan said.

A Tzohar kashrut sticker in a window
KASHRUT CERTIFICATION at a Jerusalem eatery – will the rabbinate’s monopoly be broken?

What does the kashrut reform repeal mean, and could it raise food prices? - explainer

REPRESENTATIVES OF the Chief Rabbinate of Israel cross Jaffa Street in Jerusalem as they deliver a kosher certificate to a local restaurant.

The rabbinate as an extra-territorial entity - opinion

People walk past a projection depicting Israeli and US flags on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on Oct. 22, 2025.

Rabbinic diplomacy between Israel and US explored in new exhibition


Ukrainians trying to convert to Judaism in Israel face Kafkaesque trials

Yael and Aaron Agpov from Ukraine had tried to convert to Judaism in 2022, but then the war broke out. This, plus Israel's Kafkaesque bureaucracy, thrust them into uncertainty.

 THE AGPOV family with ITIM head Rabbi Seth Farber (L) after receiving Israeli citizenship at the Netanya Interior Ministry offices.

Converting to Judaism in Israel is nearly impossible - ITIM report

The number applying for conversion in the last decade has been low but even among those who did apply, fewer than half were able to complete the process.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews perform a brit mila in the ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on November  9, 2014

Jewish civil marriage group sees increase in ceremony requests

The group, which aims to help Israelis get married legally without the Rabbinate, believes political tensions have caused the increase in requests.

 Wedding (Illustrative).

What's next for women's advanced halachic study in Israel?

When it comes to women’s halachic learning and certification, Israeli policy, legal reforms and communal acceptance all play a significant role

 ON THE rise: Women learn Gemara together (Illustrative).

Why I refused to get a 'get' - Jewish rabbinical divorce - opinion

Why cause me further suffering and humiliation? Why was my conduct not enough to satisfy the Rabbinate that my divorce was justified?

 WHAT IF he says to you, ‘Vivian. We can only get married under a huppa.’

Who is a Jew? 70% of Jewish Israelis say patrilineal descent doesn't count

The poll is the IDI's biennial statistical report and serves as an in-depth look at the balance between religion and state that is so central to Israel and Israeli society.

Israeli police officers clash with Ultra Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against the enforcement of coronavirus emergency regulations, in the Ultra Orthodox jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, October 4, 2020

A civil argument against civil marriage - opinion

Unfortunately, allowing civil marriage, here, would open a Pandora’s Box that promises nothing but trouble.

 ARTEM DOLGOPYAT reacts during competition at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Munich, last month. ‘I feel bad for him. I really do,’ says the writer, regarding the matter of marriage.

Conversion in Israel: The tug of war between the state, rabbinate

How did conversion to Judaism get caught in up the midst of an Israeli political controversy over the Law of Return and identifying who is a Jew?

 A WOMAN stands before the rabbinical court.

Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi appointed senior role in European rabbis org

Mizrachi said that representatives of the CER “asked me to be the president of the rebbetzin training program on behalf of the CER.”

 Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi speaks to orthodox Jewish women at the Public Security Ministry offices in Jerusalem

Can remote civil marriage break the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly?

SOCIAL AFFAIRS: The decision could have wide-ranging implications, including opening an additional loophole for same-sex marriages and other legally disputed unions.

 IN A DECISION announced earlier this week, the Lod District Court ruled that the Interior Ministry must recognize those civil marriages performed remotely via an online ceremony in Utah.