Summary:

The Conference of European Rabbis was established in 1956 on the initiative of Chief Rabbi Sir Israel Brodie, and with the encouragement of a leading European philanthropist, Mr Ivan Salomon. All the European Chief Rabbis immediately joined this body, and the first conference was held in Amsterdam in 1957. The declaration of the initial conference read as follows:

• Belief in the Oral Law, in our bond with the State of Israel, ethics and religion, and the Jewish role in disseminating the Prophetic Message.
• Call to all to observe Torah, including Shabbat, education, Kashrut, Family Purity and exemplary conduct; and a charge to leaders.
• Appeal to maintain halachic standards in marriage, divorce and conversion.
• Decision to create one committee to deal with halachic challenges and another to address youth and modernity.
• Greetings to Israeli and East European Jewry.

• Gratitude to their Dutch and Jewish hosts.

It further went on in an appendix document:

This meeting of Rabbis of Europe assembled in conference here in Amsterdam DECLARE as follows:

Faithful to the teachings of the Torah, the Prophets and the Sages of Israel WE FIRMLY BELIEVE

1. That eternal validity attaches to the Divine Law as revealed in our sacred scriptures and as authentically interpreted in all ages by the Rabbis acknowledging the authority of the Written and Oral Law of Judaism, and that Halacha forms the basis of Jewish life;
2. That the restoration of the Jewish State in the Holy Land is a manifest sign of the Divine mercy to the Jewish people, that Israel's well-being is bound up with its moral and religious strength, that the religious bond is the sole enduring link between the Jews of Israel and the Diaspora, and that Israel is destined to become the source of religious inspiration to the Jewish people and the world at large;
3. That all international relations and dealings between nations must be governed by ethical and religious principles, without which human happiness cannot be secured;
4. That the remarkable advances in science and technology may become a menace to mankind unless they are used with due regard for the above-mentioned principles, in the dissemination of which the Jewish people, as the bearer of the message of the Prophets, have a special role to play.

As spiritual leaders of our people

WE SOLEMNLY CALL UPON

1. Every Jew to strive so to conduct his life as to make it a living expression of the Divine Will, by loyal observance of the Laws of the Torah, notably the Sabbath and Festivals, religious upbringing of the young, Kashrut, the purity of family life and devotion to the highest ethical ideas in his relations with his fellow-men;
2. The spiritual guides of our communities and leaders of Jewish thought to apply themselves together with us, to the solution of the perplexing moral problems besetting Jewish and all human life in light of the Divine Law, and to fight uncompromisingly against the evils of materialism and secularism.

As the custodians and teachers of Jewish Law

WE EMPHATICALLY DECLARE

That marriage, divorce and conversions will only be recognised and are only valid in Jewish Law when they have been carried out in strict conformity with the Din. In order to prevent irreparable personal tragedies and to preserve the unity of the Jewish people, we earnestly appeal to the Jewish public not to be parties to marriages, divorces or conversions which would be contrary to Jewish Law.

As a representative selection of spiritual leaders of European Jewry

WE DECIDE

1. To appoint an Organising Committee which will make preparations for the setting up of a European Federation of Orthodox Rabbis, and to form a European Halachic Commission which will in consultation with the Gedole Hador in Israel and the Diaspora submit proposals on halachic questions to a further Rabbinical conference to be called:
2. To appoint a committee to advise on the publication of literature devoted to the strengthening and interpretation of Jewish religious observance, with particular emphasis on the Jewish youth of Europe, and directed towards dealing with modern science and sociology from the religious point of view.

In the name of European Jewry

WE SEND WARM GREETINGS

1. To the people of Israel and its spiritual leaders, at the head of whom stand the Chief Rabbis of the Holy Land;
2. To the spiritual leaders and members of the Jewries of Eastern Europe whom we consider to be an integral part of the world community of Jews, and we express our regret at the inability of our colleagues from Eastern Europe to be present at this Rabbinical Conference as we had hoped they would; our hope that at the next meeting of Rabbis we shall have the pleasure of being reunited with them, and in the meanwhile we express our deep thanks for the brotherly and sincere words of greetings which we received from them during the Conference.

CER Today

It is run by a standing committee of 25 members which meets twice a year. There is a convention of the entire organisation once every two years. To this convention, all the Chief Rabbis and congregational Rabbis in Europe are invited. The convention is held over a three-day period and usually includes a visit to the Head of State in which the conference is being held.

The Conference of European Rabbis is a facilitating organisation that looks after the needs and problems of Rabbis throughout Europe. It assists them with problems concerning Kashrut, gerut, gittin, fundraising, recruitment of teachers and Rabbis; in fact, all the issues that affect a Rabbi and his congregation

The CER has established a Kashrut department - ECK - that has been established in order to allow the different Kashrut bodies in Europe to discuss issues of mutual concern. The ECK also offers advice to Rabbis who need guidance in Hashgacha of products.

The CER has also recently established a department that deals with the building of Mikvaot. These are being placed in cities where there is no current Mikva, mainly in Eastern Europe.

Current Activities:

• Yarchei Kalla
• Mikva building programmes
• Locating funding for schools and kindergartens
• Organising a regular Beth Din for German Jewry
• Placing of Rabbis and teachers
• Seminars concerning Kashrut
• Negotiations with the Lithuanian government for the return of Jewish property
• Establishing a community centre in Kaliningrad
• Establishing a joint monitoring forum in Brussels in conjunction with the European Jewish Congress and the European Commission
• Management training seminar for Rabbis
• Ten-city programme in conjunction with Ner Lelef in Russia.

The CER participates in meetings with the following organisations:

• European Jewish Congress
• WJRO
• ECJC
• European Commission
• Claims Conference

We are an accredited NGO in Strasbourg and Brussels.

The officers of the organisation are:

• Chaiman of the Presidium: Chief Rabbi Joseph Hayim Sitruk
• President: Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt
• Av Beit Din: Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu
• Chairman of the Executive: Rabbi Refael Kruskal
• Executive Member: Chief Rabbi Ya'acov Dov Bleich
• Executive Member: Rabbi Joshua Spinner
• Rabbinical Director: Rabbi Moshe Lebel
• International Relations Director: Philip Carmel

CER STANDING COMMITTEE

The supreme sovereign body of the Conference of European Rabbis is its Standing Committee which meets in a major European city twice yearly. The following rabbis are members of the CER Standing Committee (in alphabetical order).

Dayan Y. Abraham
London Beit Din, UK

Rabbi Avichai Apel
Rabbi of Dortmund, Germany
Member of Presidium of German Orthodox Rabbis

Rabbi Alfonso Arbib
Chief Rabbi of Milan, Italy

Rabbi S. Baksht
Chief Rabbi of Odessa, Ukraine

Dayan Yitzchok Berger
President, Manchester Rabbinical Court, UK

Rabbi Gilles Bernheim
Chief Rabbi of France

Rabbi Yaakov D. Bleich
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine

Dayan Sh. Charbit
Créteil, France

Rabbi Yitzchak Dayan
Chief Rabbi of Geneva, Switzerland

Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni
Chief Rabbi of Rome, Italy

Rabbin Jacques Dreyfus
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Colmar, France

Rabbi Marcel Ebel
Chief Rabbi of Zurich, Switzerland

Rabbi Yitshak Ehrenberg
Chief Rabbi of Berlin, Germany

Dayan C Ehrentreu
President, CER Supreme Rabbinical Court of Europe

Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg
Chief Rabbi of Vienna, Austria

Rabbi Rafael Evers
President, Netherlands Rabbinical Seminary

Rabbi Yaacov Fhima
Chief Rabbi of Colmar, France

Rabbi Bruno Fiszon
Chief Rabbi of Metz, France

Dayan M. Gelley
President, London Rabbinical Court, UK

Rabbi Alain Goldmann
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Paris, France

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt
Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Russia

Rabbi Albert Guigui
Chief Rabbi of Brussels, Belgium

Rabbi René Gutman
Chief Rabbi of Strasbourg, France

Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag
Manchester, UK

Dayan Jerimiyahu Kohen
President, Paris Rabbinical Court, France

Rabbi Dr Zalman Kossowsky
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Zurich, Switzerland

Rabbi Steven Langnas
Munich, Germany

Rabbi Guiseppe Laras
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Milan, Italy

Rabbi Moshe Lebel
Rosh Yeshiva, Torat Hayim, Moscow, Russia
CER Rabbinical Director

Rabbi Meir Lewinger
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Basel, Switzerland

Rabbi Abraham Levy
Spiritual Head of the Spanish and Portuguese Communities of the UK

Rabbi Shlomo Noach Mandel
CER Representative in North America

Dayan Shmouel Melloul
President of the Marseille Rabbinical Court, France

Rabbi David Messas
Chief Rabbi of Paris, France

Rabbi Reuven Ohana
Chief Rabbi of Marseille, France

Rabbi Arye Ralbag
Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom

Rabbi Shmuel Akiva Schlesinger
Etz Hayim, Strasbourg

Rabbi Michael Schudrich
Chief Rabbi of Poland

Rabbi Rene-Samuel Sirat
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of France

Rabbi Joseph Sitruk
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of France

Rabbi Joshua Spinner
President, Berlin Rabbinical Seminary, Germany

Rabbi Michael Szmerla
President, Strasbourg Rabbinical Court, France

Rabbi Yachye Teboul
President, Lyon Rabbinical Court, France

Rabbi Elie Toaff
Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Rome, Italy

Rabbi Pinchas Toledano
Portugese Jewish Community of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Rabbin Richard Werthenschlag
Chief Rabbi of Lyon, France

Rabbi David Yuschuvaev
Torah Mitzion, Moscow, Russia

Dayan Yitzchok Berger
President, Manchester Rabbinical Court, UK

Rabbi Refoel Kruskal
Chairman of the CER Executive Committee

Mr. Philip Carmel
CER International Relations Director

CER Presidium

The Spiritual and Halachic direction of the CER is controlled by a presidium elected by the Standing Committee. The following are members of the CER presidium.

Rabbi Joseph Hayim Sitruk (Chairman)
Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu (Av Beit Din)
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt (President)

CER Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is elected by the Standing Committee and controls the day-to-day management of the CER. Its members are as follows.

Rabbi Refoel Kruskal (Chairman)
Rabbi Yaacov Dov Bleich
Rabbi Joshua Spinner
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt (President)

President’s Cabinet

The President’s Cabinet formulates political and organisational to be implemented by the Executive Committee. It includes all the members of the Executive Committee plus the following members.