Conference of European Rabbis

The Conference of European Rabbis is the primary Orthodox rabbinical alliance in Europe. It unites more than 700 religious leaders of the mainstream synagogue communities in Europe. It was founded in 1956 on the initiative of British Chief Rabbi Sir Israel Brodie, in order to revive the destroyed Jewish communities on the European mainland. Brodie was supported by the chief rabbi of France, Jacob Kaplan, the chief rabbi of Amsterdam, Aharon Schuster and the British Sephardic spiritual leader, Hacham Gaon. The first conference took place in 1957 in Amsterdam.

The organization is run by a standing committee of 35 members which meets twice a year in one of the European capitals and includes besides the internal deliberations, a visit with the local Jewish community and political meetings with the country's government. The Standing Committee members are in general, the chief rabbis of European countries and its most important cities along with the senior rabbinical judges. The general convention of the entire rabbinate convenes once every two years to which all European Chief Rabbis and congregational Rabbis are invited.

The conference is designed to defend the religious rights of Jews in Europe, and has become the voice of Judaism for the European continent. This organization has been involved in defending the rights of Jews to slaughter animals according to Jewish law and for Jews to circumcise their children. The CER also functions as a collegial rabbinical authority, which certifies the validity of conversions, kashruth certifications and other rabbinical legal decisions, affecting the broader Jewish community. Throughout its existence it has helped facilitate communities concerning Kashrut, conversion, divorce, recruitment of Rabbis and other issues. The CER has also established a department that deals with the building of mikvehs, (ritual basins) which has built over a dozen ritual basins all over Europe.

Personnel

The current president of the CER is the chief rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who served as chairman of the Standing Committee for over ten years. The chairman of the Presidium is the immediate past president of the CER and past Chief Rabbi of France, Joseph Sitruk, and the associate president is British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (position previously held by former British Chief Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks). Before Sitruck, the organization was headed by Rabbi Lord Immanuel Jacobovits, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain.

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