Israel Weiss

Who is Israel Weiss?

Israel Weiss was the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces serving in the position between 2000 and 2006, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in that position was Rabbi Gad Navon.

Rabbi Israel Weiss was born in Czechoslovakia. He studied at Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem. In 1976, he was drafted into the Miilitary Rabbinate and served as a battalion rabbi, a brigade rabbi, a division rabbi, and the rabbi of GOC Army Headquarters. In 2000, Weiss was nominated to the position after Rabbi Gad Navon stepped down. Weiss was present at the 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange and remarked of the bodies that Hezbollah released: "the verification process yesterday was very slow, because, if we thought the enemy was cruel to the living and the dead, we were surprised, when we opened the caskets, to discover just how cruel. And I'll leave it at that."

In 2010, Weiss released a book named Bedam Libi about the Military Rabbinate and his time serving in the army. He related that he during the time of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, he was lied to by then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and then Chief of Staff Dan Halutz.