Kalman Bar קלמן בר
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel since October 2024. A respected Religious Zionist talmid chacham and longtime municipal Chief Rabbi of Netanya whose election reflected a broad coalition of Religious Zionist and Haredi support.
Background
Born in Israel in 1957, Bar studied at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav under the leading Religious Zionist authorities of his generation, received rabbinical ordination, and served for decades as Chief Rabbi of Netanya, building a reputation as a serious posek, an accessible community rabbi, and a quiet bridge-builder across the streams of religious life in Israel. He was elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi in September 2024 for a ten-year term.
Notable record
- Decades of municipal rabbinical service in Netanya, including extensive work on conversion and personal-status questions
- Serves alongside the Sephardi Chief Rabbi on the council that oversees the national rabbinical-court system and the Chief Rabbinate's many functions (kashrut certification, marriage registration, conversion, supervision of religious councils)
- Brings the Religious Zionist tradition of Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, the spiritual center of the movement to redeem and settle the Land of Israel, into the highest office of the State's official rabbinate
Today
Serving the early years of his ten-year term as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi.
Why it matters
His election strengthens the link between the official Chief Rabbinate and the Religious Zionist communities that have been the backbone of religious life in the State of Israel since 1948.
Cite this page
Kalman Bar, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi. The State of Israel. https://thestateofisrael.com/justice/kalman-bar