Uriel Davidi

Who was Uriel Davidi?

Hacham Uriel Davidi Khansari was a famous Jewish religious leader and theologian, who was born in Khansar and died in the Neve Yaakov section of Jerusalem, Israel, where he had spent the last 12 years of is life. He was descended from a long line of rabbis who preceded him in leading the Jewish community in Iran. Born to Hacham Meir Davidi, he continued the tradition of a learned scholar and after moving to Tehran, became a more prominent community leader in his own rite. In the late 1970s, Davidi along with the late chief rabbi, Hacham Yedidia Shofet made annual visits to the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as representatives of the Jewish community. In 1979, shortly after the Islamic revolution, Davidi and Shofet along with a few other members of the Jewish community of Tehran met with the new leadership of the Islamic Republic in order to preserve the rights of the Jewish community.

Hacham Uriel Davidi served as the chief rabbi of Iran after Hacham Shofet left, from 1980 to 1994. On January 17, 1994, he moved to Jerusalem, Israel.

One of his sons is Rabbi Nissim Davidi, the Kashrut Administrator of the Rabbinical Council of California in Los Angeles, California. He is also certified mohel like his father and paternal grandfather were before him.