Religionשמואל אליהו

Samuel Eliyahu

Shmuel Eliyahu is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi who serves as Chief Rabbi of Safed and is a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council.

born 1956Chief Rabbi of SafedChief Rabbinate Council membershipStatements about Arabs

Born: 29 November 1956, Israel
Occupation: rabbi
Education: Yashlatz, Mercaz HaRav Kook

Samuel Eliyahu was born in 1956 in Israel

Shmuel Eliyahu was born on 29 November 1956 in Jerusalem. His parents were Tzviya and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who served as Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel.

He studied at Yashlatz in Jerusalem and then at Mercaz HaRav, where he learned under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. He served in the IDF as a tank soldier in the Armored Corps.

He was ordained as a rabbi at 23 and became rabbi of Shlomi at 29. In 1989 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Safed, and in 1993 he joined the Chief Rabbinate Council. He ran for Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel in 2003 and 2013 and for Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem in 2014, and lost each time.

His 2013 candidacy drew opposition over his statements about Arabs, and the Attorney General asked him to withdraw. In 2015 he brought sexual abuse claims against Ezra Sheinberg to the police, and in 2021 he convened a rabbinical court on claims against Chaim Walder. In 2022 the United States revoked his visa.