Avichai Rontzki
| Avichai Rontzki | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 10, 1951 Haifa |
| Allegiance |
 Israel
|
| Service/branch | Israel Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1969 – 2010 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit | Military Rabbinate |
| Commands held | Commander of the Military Rabbinate |
| Other work | Rosh Yeshiva of Itamar |
Avichai Rontzki (Hebrew: אביחי רונצקי), born October 10, 1951, is the former Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces. He served in the position from 2006 to 2010, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in that position was Rabbi Israel Weiss. Rontzki is also the rosh yeshiva of the Hesder Yeshiva in the West Bank settlement Itamar. His four years in office have led to several controversies. Some of his statements have upset not only secular Israelis, but have led many organizations outside of Israel to accuse him of inciting terrorism.
Rontzki was born to a non-religious Jewish family and studied at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa. He became religious while serving in the army. In 1969, he began is military career in Shayetet 13 but did not complete the training instead moving to Sayeret Shaked in which he fought as a company commander in the Yom Kippur War. During this time, he began a process of repentance with his wife Ronit who he had met in his unit. Rontzki studied at Machon Meir and Mercaz HaRav and also was involved with instructing street kids in Jerusalem. In 1980, he established the Hesder Yeshiva in Elon Moreh. In 1984, he was part of the group that established the settlement Itamar near Nablus and also initiated the local yeshiva that he still leads today. Rontzki wrote the well known four volume army halakhic guide Hitzim K'yad Gibor. In addition to his rosh yeshiva position, he continued to serve in the reserves and rose in rank to the position of chief of staff of the Samaria Territorial Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבה מרחבית שומרון).
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