Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Two Chiefs of Staff Visit the Western Wall

Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places (in short: Rabbi of the Western Wall) operates under the

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

, and is responsible for providing religious services to

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s at the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

and other holy places in

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 ...

, listed in the ''Regulations for the Preservation of Holy Places for Jews, 1981.'' As part of his role, the Rabbi of the Western Wall is in charge of enforcing the Law on the ''Preservation of the Holy Places, 1967'' in places under his supervision, including the prevention of

Sabbath desecration Sabbath desecration is the failure to observe the Biblical Sabbath and is usually considered a sin and a breach of a holy day in relation to either the Jewish ''Shabbat'' (Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall), the Sabbath in seventh-day church ...

, prevention of inappropriate attire, prevention of Begging and interruption of prayer in the Western Wall plaza, restrictions on the practice of photography at the Western Wall plaza etc. The Rabbi of the Western Wall participates in ceremonies that take place in the Western Wall plaza, and is often accompanied by public figures from the around the world who visit the Western Wall for the first time.

Rabbis

* Yitzhak Avigdor Orenstein (1930–1948) - Following the

Battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the surrender until 30 December 1917, to ...

, Jews lost control of the Jewish Quarter, and the position was not reestablished until 1967. * (1967–1978) - There was no Rabbi of the Western Wall between Schechter's death and Getz's appointment in 1981. *

Yehuda Getz Yehuda Getz (born 1924 in Tunis, Tunisia—died 17 September 1995 in Jerusalem) was the rabbi of the Western Wall for 27 years. Biography Yehuda Meir Getz was born in Tunisia in 1924. He immigrated to Israel in 1949, settling in Kerem Ben Zimra, ...

(1981–1995) - There was no Rabbi of the Western Wall between Getz's death in 1995 and Rabinovitch's appointment in 2000. *

Shmuel Rabinovitch Shmuel Rabinovitch, also spelled Rabinowitz ( he, שמואל רבינוביץ) (born 4 April 1970, Jerusalem) is an Orthodox rabbi and Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites of Israel. In his duties as Rabbi of the Wall in the Old City of Je ...

(2000–present)

References

Jewish holy places Western Wall Rabbis in Jerusalem {{Israel-stub