List of chief rabbis of Israel

This is the list of Chief Rabbis of Israel, including Mandatory Palestine.

There are two Chief Rabbis, one for the Ashkenazi Jews and one for the Sephardi Jews.

Together they are in charge of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis

Ashkenazi chief rabbis
No	Name	Term	Notes
1	Abraham Isaac haCohen Kook (1865–1935)	1921–1935	Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine
2	Yitzchak haLevi Herzog (1888–1959)	1936–1959	Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1919–1936) First Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel Father of Israeli president Chaim Herzog Grandfather of Israeli president Isaac Herzog
3	Isser Yehuda Unterman (1886–1976)	1964–1973	Chief rabbi of Liverpool and Tel Aviv
4	Shlomo Goren (1917–1994)	1973–1983	Chief Rabbi of the IDF (1948–1968)
5	Avraham Shapira (1914–2007)	1983–1993
6	Yisrael Meir Lau (born 1937)	1993–2003	Father of David Lau
7	Yona Metzger (born 1953)	2003–2013	Went to jail for fraud
8	David Lau (born 1966)	2013–2024	Son of Yisrael Meir Lau
Vacant from 1 July 2024-present

Sefardic chief rabbis
No	Name	Term	Notes
1	Yaacov Meir (1856–1939)	1921–1939	First Chief Rabbi of Palestine
2	Ben-Zion Uziel (1880–1953)	1939–1953	First Chief Rabbi of Israel
3	Yitzchak Nissim (1896–1981)	1955–1973	Father of former MK, minister and deputy Prime Minister, Moshe Nissim
4	Ovadia Yosef (1920–2013)	1973–1983	Spiritual leader and founder of Shas political party Father of Yitzchak Yosef
5	Mordechai Eliyahu (1929–2010)	1983–1993
6	Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron (1941–2020)	1993–2003	Convicted of fraud, sentenced to probation and ordered to pay a NIS 250,000 fine
7	Shlomo Amar (born 1948)	2003–2013	Related to Yitzchak Yosef by marriage
8	Yitzchak Yosef (born 1952)	2013–present	Son of Ovadia Yosef Related to Shlomo Amar by marriage
Vacant 1 July 2024 - 1 October 2024
9	David Yosef (born 1957)	2024-present	Son of Ovadia Yosef Brother of Yitzchak Yosef