Yaakov Ariel

Yaakov Ariel (Hebrew: יעקב אריאל; born (1937-10-16)October 16, 1937) is the former chief rabbi of the city of Ramat Gan, Israel, and a cofounder of Gush Emunim (גוש אמונים, lit. 'Bloc of the Faithful'), an Israeli ultranationalist organization. Ariel served as a rosh yeshiva in the abandoned Israeli settlement of Yamit in the Sinai Peninsula until 1982; the year he took the role is unknown. Ariel is the president of the Ramat Gan Yeshiva, the roshei yeshiva of which are rabbis Yehoshua Shapira and Ben-Tzion Moshe Elgazi. He also served as the rabbi of Kfar Maimon for roughly 25 years. Born in Jerusalem, Ariel learned at Yeshivat Kfar HaRoeh, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, Midrashiat Noam in Pardes Hana, and Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem. At Mercaz HaRav, he was a disciple of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook. In 2003, Ariel was a leading candidate for Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel but lost due to opposition from the Haredi bloc. His brother, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, is the former chief rabbi of Yamit and founder of the Temple Institute. In September 2017, Rabbi Ariel announced that, having reached the age of 80, he was stepping down as rabbi of Ramat Gan.