Uri Regev is a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of the Reform movement of Judaism 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 ...

, and an active civil rights and religious pluralism advocate. Currently he serves as the President and CEO of “Hiddush – For Freedom of Religion and Equality”, a

trans-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

aimed at promoting religious freedom and equality in

, a partnership between Israeli

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 and World Jewry, founded in 2009.

Biography

Uri Regev was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 to a secular family. As a child he had no interest in religion. His first contact with the Reform movement was in 1967, when he joined a student delegation to Jewish communities in the United States. After returning to Israel, he joined the small Reform youth movement. Regev studied law at Tel Aviv University Law School and went on to practice law. In the late 1970s, he began studying at the Reform movement′s rabbinical school, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1986. He served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as an assistant legal advisor in the Gaza Strip and Sinai and as military prosecutor for the Israeli Navy. He retired from military service with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Regev lives in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

with his wife, Garri. They have a son and daughter.

Social activism

Regev has been executive director of the

Israel Religious Action Center The Israel Religious Action Center (Hebrew: המרכז הרפורמי לדת ומדינה) also known as IRAC, was established in 1987 as the public and legal advocacy arm of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. It is located in Jerusalem, ...

(IRAC), the political arm of the Reform movement in Israel, and President of the

World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...

. Israeli newspaper ''Haaretz'' described him as a "charismatic figure who speaks eloquently and often sharply and has an impressive work output,” and credits him and Oli Sloam with changing the Reform Movement′s face in Israel and making IRAC the most active institution within the movement, turning it “into a factor that both the religious and political establishment cannot ignore”. Regev won in the Supreme Court some of the recent landmark cases regarding Religion and State in Israel, including the recognition of Reform and Conservative conversion performed abroad. The long legal battle for the recognition of Reform conversion and the political struggle against the Conversion Law led to the appointment of the Ne'eman Commission, which recommended the creation of a common conversion institute for all three streams of Judaism - a recommendation that was accepted by the Chief Rabbinate. Regev is a founding member of

B'Tselem B'Tselem ( he, בצלם, , " in the image of od) is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization whose stated goals are to document human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, combat any denial of the existence of su ...

, the organization monitoring human rights in the occupied territories, and has served on the boards of many Jewish organizations, including the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

, the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

Rabbis for Human Rights Rabbis for Human Rights is an Israeli human rights organization that describes itself as "the rabbinic voice of conscience in Israel, giving voice to the Jewish tradition of human rights".

, and the

Association for Civil Rights in Israel The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) (Hebrew: ; Arabic: ) was created in 1972 as an independent, non-partisan not-for-profit organization with the mission of protecting human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories u ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regev, Uri Israeli Reform rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis Living people 1951 births People from Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli lawyers