Israel Weiss

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Israel Weiss

Israel Weiss (Hebrew: ישראל וייס, born 1949) was the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces serving in the position between 2000 and 2006, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in that position was Rabbi Gad Navon.

Biography

Israel Weiss was born in Czechoslovakia. He studied at Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem, and views Rabbi Avraham Shapira as his mentor. Weiss was ordained in the Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research.

Rabbinic career

In 1976, he was drafted into the Military Rabbinate and served as a battalion rabbi, a brigade rabbi, a division rabbi, and the rabbi of GOC Army Headquarters. In 2000, Weiss was nominated to the position after Rabbi Gad Navon stepped down.[1]

Weiss was present at the 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange and remarked of the bodies that Hezbollah released: "the verification process yesterday was very slow, because, if we thought the enemy was cruel to the living and the dead, we were surprised, when we opened the caskets, to discover just how cruel. And I'll leave it at that."[2]

Published works

In 2010, Weiss released a book named Bedam Libi (lit., "In the Blood of my Heart") about the Military Rabbinate and his time serving in the army. He related that during the 2005

Chief of Staff Dan Halutz
of dishonesty, as Halutz fired Rabbi Weiss two days after dismissing rumors that he was about to replace him. [3]

References

  1. ^ Longest-Serving IDF Chief Rabbi Gad Navon Dies at 86
  2. Arutz 7
    . 2008-07-17.
  3. ^ Miskin, Maayana (30 November 2010). "Rabbi Weiss: Sharon Lied; I'm Sorry I Was Part of the Expulsion". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 15 August 2018.