ORTHODOX UNION STATEMENT ON THE SELECTION OF RABBI EPHRAIM MIRVIS AS NEXT CHIEF RABBI OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
The Orthodox Union, which embraces over 800 synagogues in North America, extends its congratulations to Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis on his selection as the eleventh British Chief Rabbi. Just as we worked closely with his distinguished predecessor, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who was a regular participant in OU events, including serving as Scholar-in-Residence at the 2008 OU Convention in Jerusalem, we hope to develop similar ties with Rabbi Mirvis and to provide him with ample opportunities to share his wisdom with the OU constituency.
Rabbi Mirvis comes to his new position from the Finchley Synagogue, one of the largest congregations in Britain. A native of South Africa, he previously served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland; he is also a shochet, mohel and chazzan.
We look forward to welcoming Rabbi Mirvis at regular intervals and to consulting with him on the problems and issues we jointly face. Similarly, we hope he will give us the opportunity to make use of his prodigious talents and eloquence at events and programs of the Orthodox Union.
We wish him hatzlachah and many years of accomplishment serving the British Orthodox community.
Dr. Simcha Katz, President
Stephen J. Savitsky, Chairman of the Board
Rabbi Steven Weil, Executive Vice President
Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President, Emeritus
Paul Glasser, Senior Director of Institutional Advancement
Orthodox Union, New York, NY
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