Aaron Leibowitz is an American-born

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i rabbi.

Rabbinic and political career

Aaron Leibowitz is a noted educator, and started Hashgacha Pratit, a

kosher certification A hechsher (; he, הֶכְשֵׁר "prior approval"; plural: ''hechsherim'') is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items (usually foods) that conform to the requirements of halakha. Forms A hechsher may be a printed and signed certif ...

independent of the

Israeli Chief Rabbinate The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Co ...

. He is also a councilor for the Jerusalem municipality for the

Yerushalmim Yerushalmim ( he, ירושלמים; ) is an Israeli local civilian organization and political party in Jerusalem. History Yerushalmim was formed in 2008 by Rachel Azaria, who was elected that year to the city council of Jerusalem. Yerushalmim is a ...

party. In 2018 Leibowitz handed over the kosher certification to the larger organization, Tzohar, however Leibowitz remained CEO of Hashgacha Pratit. The organization began officiating weddings outside of the Chief Rabbinate, despite this being illegal in Israel. He called the Chief Rabbinate "racist" because of their views on who is a Jew, and their use of DNA testing to determine Jewish status.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibowitz, Aaron Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American rabbis Israeli rabbis Israeli educators American emigrants to Israel 21st-century American Jews