Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
Rabbinic association supporting Jewish communities in Muslim-majority countries
| Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States | |
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| Type | Nonprofit / Religious organisation |
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| Registration ID | Florida N20000011307; EIN 85-3435240 |
| Status | Active |
| Headquarters | 1035 14th Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States |
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| Website | rabbisalliance.org |
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Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS) is a rabbinic association founded in September 2019 by Rabbi Mendy Chitrik to connect and support rabbis serving Jewish communities in predominantly Muslim countries and regions. It describes itself as the first rabbinic association in the Muslim world and aims to sustain Jewish life, promote interfaith coexistence, and combat antisemitism and Islamophobia.[1][2]
The organisation is registered in the United States as Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States Inc., a Florida domestic non-profit corporation (document number N20000011307), incorporated on 8 October 2020 with principal address at 1035 14th Street, Miami Beach, Florida 33139. It holds US tax-exempt status (EIN 85-3435240) as a religious organisation, granted in March 2021. Officers have included Menachem M. Chitrik (President/Director), Yeshaya Cohen (Director) and Chaim H. Zyslin (Director).[3][4]
Its activity follows the halachic guidelines of Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef (Rishon LeZion), who has formally endorsed the alliance.[5]
Mission and activities
ARIS states its mission is “to support, sustain, and advocate on behalf of Jewish life across Islamic States.” Aspirations include providing a platform for mutual support among rabbis and communities; safeguarding Jewish practice (prayer, festivals, kosher food); advancing interfaith engagement linked to the Abraham Accords; developing a network of Friends of ARIS; producing multilingual content; and convening annual summits.[6]
Membership covers rabbis in Albania, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, UAE, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Nigeria and additional locations, as well as Muslim-majority regions such as North Cyprus, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The organisation reports serving communities comprising tens of thousands of Jews and acting as an apolitical voice for coexistence.[1][7]
Leadership and membership
Chairman is Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Istanbul, Turkey.[8]
Presidium Council and Executive Board
The membership of the Alliance spans several streams within Orthodox Judaism. The Presidium Council is weighted toward Sephardi and Israeli Chief Rabbinate figures, including Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Tunisian Chief Rabbi Haim Bitan, Turkish Hahambashi Isak Haleva, and Moroccan-linked rabbis such as Gad Bouskila and David Rafael Banon.
By contrast, the Executive Board and operational membership are dominated by Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries (shluchim). Explicitly identified Chabad rabbis include Chairman Mendy Chitrik (Istanbul), Levi Banon (Casablanca), Levi Duchman (UAE), Yeshaya Cohen (Kazakhstan) and Shneor Segal (Azerbaijan); numerous additional members serving in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Uganda, Uzbekistan and the UAE are likewise drawn from the Chabad network. Overall, Chabadniks constitute a clear majority of the active rabbinic membership, while the higher advisory layer retains a stronger Sephardi and non-Chabad Orthodox presence.
| Name | Role / Position | Location / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yitzhak Yosef | Chief Sephardi Rabbi (halachic guidance) | Israel (Rishon LeZion) |
| Shimon Gad Elituv | Presidium Council | Member of the Council of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate |
| David Rafael Banon | Presidium Council | Montreal Bet Din |
| Haim Bitan | Presidium Council | Chief Rabbi of Tunisia |
| Isak Haleva | Presidium Council (Hahambashi) | Chief Rabbi of Turkey |
| Gad Bouskila | Presidium Council | Rabbi of Netivot Yisrael Moroccan community of NY |
| Mendy Chitrik | Chairman, Executive Board | Rabbi of Ashkenazi community of Istanbul, Turkey |
| Yeshaya Cohen | Executive Board | Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan |
| Shneor Segal | Executive Board | Chief Rabbi of Azerbaijan Ashkenazi community |
| Levi Banon | Executive Board | Chabad Community Rabbi of Casablanca, Morocco |
| Yisrael Uzan | Executive Board | Chief Rabbi of Nigeria |
| Levi Duchman | Executive Board | Rabbi of the UAE |
| Chaim Hilel Azimow | Observer | Rabbi of North Cyprus |
Rabbi members
| Name | Role / Position | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Yoel Kaplan | Chief Rabbi of Kosovo and Albania | Kosovo / Albania |
| Mendy Leichter | Rabbi of Sumqayit | Azerbaijan |
| Nachshon Yunaev | Rabbi for Youth Activities | Jewish community of Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Mati Lewis | Rabbi | Jewish community of Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Pesah Mirov | Rabbi | Jewish community of Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Shneor Elimelech | Rabbi | Jewish community of Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Dan Krichevsky | Chief Rabbi | Russia Republic of Bashkortostan |
| Avraham Dayan | Formerly Rabbi | Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt |
| Yehud Gerami | Chief Rabbi of Iran | Iran |
| Eliyahu Saidiyan | Chief Rabbi of Isfahan | Iran |
| Shimon Ash | Rabbi of Pavlodar | Kazakhstan |
| Asaf Feinstein | Rabbi of Ust'-Kamenogorsk | Kazakhstan |
| Shevach Zaltopolsky | Rabbi | Almaty, Kazakhstan |
| Elchanan Cohen | Chief Rabbi of Almaty | Kazakhstan |
| Mendel Zalmanov | Rabbi of Kostanay | Kazakhstan |
| Mordechai Morosow | Rabbi of Shymkent | Kazakhstan |
| Saadia Liberow | Rabbi | Almaty, Kazakhstan |
| Asher Tumarkin | Rabbi of Karganda | Kazakhstan |
| Shmuel Karnaukh | Rabbi of Nursultan | Kazakhstan |
| Mordechai Cohen | Rabbi | Almaty, Kazakhstan |
| Arie Reichman | Chief Rabbi of Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyzstan |
| Menachem Sternbach | Rabbi of Lagos | Nigeria |
| Chimon Lahiany | Rabbi | Marrakesh, Morocco |
| Yitzchak Gorelik | Chief Rabbi | Russian Republic of Tatarstan |
| Isak Peres | Rabbi of Yenikoy Community; Bet Din member | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Naftali Haleva | Etz Ahayim, Ortaköy; Bet Din member | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Izak Alaluf | Rabbi of Kemerburgaz community; Bet Din member | Istanbul, Turkey |
| David Zvi | Rabbi of Beit Israel | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Avraham Gershon | Hesed-Leavraam-Buyukada | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Mendel Porush | Rabbi for Kashrut | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Shlomo Babaev | Rabbi of Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan |
| Shlomo Rabin | Head Rabbi of Buchara Jewish community | Uzbekistan |
| Moshe Raskin | Chief Rabbi of Uganda | Uganda |
| Binyamin Hatab | Rabbi | Tunisia |
| Mendel Duchman | Rabbi | Dubai, UAE |
| Shimon Frenkel | Emirates Agency for Kosher Certification | UAE |
| Shlomo Bentolila | Chief Rabbi of Central Africa | Central Africa |
| Yerachmiel Bensaid | Chief Rabbi of Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast |
| Shimi Aziza | Chief Rabbi of Tanzania | Tanzania |
| Avraham Hamra | Chief Rabbi of Syrian Expatriates Community (in memoriam) | — |
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board comprises a mix of philanthropists, communal activists, academics and Chabad figures rather than a single denominational bloc. Founding Patron Alexander Machkevich (also spelled Mashkevich), the late Kazakh-Israeli billionaire, founded the Kazakhstan Jewish Congress and led the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress; he was a major funder of synagogues (including Chabad institutions) and interfaith projects across Central Asia. Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz is a senior Chabad-Lubavitch emissary who previously directed the Chabad-dominated Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and has served as an alternate Chabad NGO delegate at the United Nations. Rabbi Levi Matusof (Paris) is likewise a Chabad representative, linked to the long-standing Matusof family of Chabad shluchim in Morocco and France. Carole Basri is an American lawyer and filmmaker of Iraqi Jewish (Sephardi/'Mizrahi') descent, focused on the history and archives of Middle Eastern Jewry rather than any particular Orthodox stream. Nir Boms is an Israeli academic specialising in regional cooperation and the Abraham Accords. The remaining members—Daniel Berkove, Sandra Dangoor, Brigitte Dayan, Jason Epstein, Eli Ovits, Joy Malka Rothenberg, Daniel Seal, Tuli Skaist, Leizer Schiner and Efrat Sopher—are drawn largely from professional, philanthropic and interfaith networks in the United States, Israel, the UK and the UAE, spanning mainstream Orthodox, Sephardi and non-denominational Jewish communal circles.
Founding Patron: Alexander Machkevich (Kazakhstan).[9]
| Name | Location / Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Carole Basri | USA |
| Daniel Berkove | Israel |
| Avraham Berkowitz | US |
| Nir Boms | Israel |
| Sandra Dangoor | UK |
| Brigitte Dayan | USA |
| Jason Epstein | USA |
| Levi Matusof | Paris |
| Eli Ovits | Israel |
| Joy Malka Rothenberg | Israel |
| Daniel Seal | UAE |
| Tuli Skaist | USA |
| Leizer Schiner | USA |
| Efrat Sopher | London |
See also
Yitzhak Yosef Mendy Chitrik Jewish communities in Muslim-majority countries Abraham Accords
External links
Official website X (Twitter) account List of rabbis Advisory Board
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, About rabbisalliance.org.
- ↑ Contemporary reports summarised in Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States overview, drawing on organisational statements.
- ↑ Florida corporate records, ALLIANCE OF RABBIS IN ISLAMIC STATES INC and related filings.
- ↑ Organisation records, Alliance Of Rabbis In Islamic States Inc Miami Beach, FL.
- ↑ Jeremy Sharon, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef endorses Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States The Jerusalem Post, 16 February 2021.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, Mission rabbisalliance.org.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, Home rabbisalliance.org.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, ARIS Rabbis rabbisalliance.org.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, Advisory Board rabbisalliance.org.