  |
Conference of European Rabbis in Gibraltar
|
Chief Rabbis and other leading Jewish religious dignitaries have been to Gibraltar as part of the Conference of European Rabbis. They have been gathering as its standing committee in Gibraltar where one of the principal items on its agenda has been the formation of the first ever European-wide Beth Din, covering all issues of Jewish law and personal status for Jewish communities across the continent.
The organisation was formed in 1956 and includes Rabbis from some forty countries on the European continent and includes all Europe's Chief Rabbis and senior Dayanim. It is headed by its President, the Grand Rabbin de France HaRav Yosef Chaim Sitruk.
The Conference represents the Jewish faith to all political, national and international authorities in Europe and fulfils a similar position on a European level to that of a national Chief Rabbi on a national level.
Now in its fiftieth year, and shortly after its historical jubilee conference in London earlier this year, the CER has been gathering all the senior Chief Rabbis and Dayanim of European at its Standing Committee in Gibraltar where one of the principal items on its agenda will be the formation of the first ever European-wide Beth Din, covering all issues of Jewish law and personal status for Jewish communities across the continent.
The CER holds official consultancy status as a recognised NGO within the institutions of the European Union and at the Council of Europe and holds observer status on the governing boards of the World Jewish Congress and the European Jewish Congress.
The delegates include the Chief Rabbis of France, Italy and the Ukraine as well as the Chief Rabbi?s of Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Brussels, Geneva, Milan, Antwerp, Colmar and Metz as well as leading Rabbis from London, Manchester, Paris, Strasbourg, Zurich, Milan, Munich, Odessa, Jerusalem and New York. The delegation also includes the heads of a number of important Rabbinical Courts including the Rabbinical Court of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Also attending was Gibraltar-born Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy, who is the Spiritual Head of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of Jews.
The Jewish Community has hosted a number of functions. Yesterday, their itinerary included a reception hosted by the Mayor, courtesy calls to the Governor and Chief Minister and a Gala Dinner hosted by the Jewish Community to which the Chief Minister, the Deputy Governor, Ministers Holliday and Beltran (the Mayor), the Leader of the Opposition and the head of the RGP attended. They also visited Talmud Torah (the Jewish Primary School).
Attendees at Gibraltar Standing Committee Meeting were: Grand Rabbin Joseph Sitruk Chief Rabbi of France President, Conference of European Rabbis . Chief Rabbi Shmuel Di Segni Chief Rabbi of Rome Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Grand Rabbin David Messas, Paris Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi Yitshak Ehrenberg Berlin Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldshmidt Moscow Chief Rabbi Chairman of Standing Committee, CER . Chief Rabbi Albert Guigui Brussels Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi Izhak Dayan Geneva Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi Alfonso Arbib Milan Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi David Lieberman Antwerp Chief Rabbi Grand Rabbin Jacky Dreyfus Colmar Chief Rabbi Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy Chief Rabbi, Spanish & Portuguese Jews, UK Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu Head of Beth Din, London Chief Justice, European Rabbinical Court . Dayan Menachem Gelley Beth Din, London. Dayan Pinchas Toledano Sephardi Beth Din, London. Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag Manchester, U.K. Rabbi B Fiszon Metz, France. Dayan Moshe Bamberger Metz, France. Dayan Jermiyahu Kohen Head of Beth Din, Paris Rabbi Efrayim Sitruk Paris, France. Rabbi Eliyahu Sitruk Paris, France. Dayan Michael Szmerla Strasbourg, France. Rabbi Zalman Kossowsky Zurich, Switzerland. Rabbi G Laras Milan, Italy. Rabbi Steven Langnas Munich, Germany. Rabbi Shlomo Baksht Odessa, Ukraine. Rabbi Moshe Lebel Jerusalem, Israel. Rabbi Meir Levinger Jerusalem, Israel. Rabbi Moshe Rose Jerusalem, Israel. Rabbi Arye Ralbag New York, USA. Mr Philip Carmel Director CER, Brussels. Mr Moshe Freedman Israeli press. Mr Yitshak Freedman Israeli press. Mrs Naomi Cohen Secretary.
|
|
|
|
