Uri Regev
Encyclopedia
Uri Regev is a lawyer
and rabbi
of the Reform movement of Judaism
in Israel
, and an active civil rights and religious pluralism advocate. Currently he serves as the President and CEO of “Hiddush – For Freedom of Religion and Equality”
, a trans-denominational nonprofit organization
aimed at promoting religious freedom and equality in Israel
, a partnership between Israeli Jews and World Jewry, founded in 2009.
Regev was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 to a secular family. As a child he had no interest in religion. His first contact with the Reform movement was in 1967, when he joined a student delegation to Jewish communities in the United States. After returning to Israel, he joined the small Reform youth movement.
Regev studied law at Tel Aviv University Law School and went on to practice law. In the late 1970s, he began studying at the Reform movement′s rabbinical school, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1986. He served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as an assistant legal advisor in the Gaza Strip and Sinai and as military prosecutor for the Israeli Navy. He retired from military service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Regev has been executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center
(IRAC), the political arm of the Reform movement in Israel, and President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz calls him “a charismatic figure who speaks eloquently and often sharply and has an impressive work output”, and credits him with changing the Reform Movement′s face in Israel and making IRAC the most active institution within the movement, turning it “into a factor that both the religious and political establishment cannot ignore”.
Regev successfully argued and won in the Supreme Court some of the recent landmark cases regarding Religion and State in Israel, including the recognition of Reform and Conservative conversion performed abroad. The long legal battle for the recognition of Reform conversion and the political struggle against the Conversion Law led to the appointment of the Ne'eman Commission, which recommended the creation of a common conversion institute for all three streams of Judaism - a recommendation that was accepted by the Chief Rabbinate.
Regev is a founding member of B'Tselem
, the organization monitoring human rights in the occupied territories, and has served on the boards of many Jewish organizations, including the World Zionist Organization
, the Jewish Agency, Rabbis for Human Rights
, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
.
Regev lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Garri. Their son and daughter in law are studying for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College and their daughter is a student at the Culinary Institute of America.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of the Reform movement of Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and an active civil rights and religious pluralism advocate. Currently he serves as the President and CEO of “Hiddush – For Freedom of Religion and Equality”
Hiddush
Hiddush meaning innovation, renewal, full name "Hiddush – For Religious Freedom and Equality", is a trans-denominational nonprofit organization founded in 2009 which is aimed at promoting religious freedom and equality in Israel...
, a trans-denominational nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
aimed at promoting religious freedom and equality in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, a partnership between Israeli Jews and World Jewry, founded in 2009.
Regev was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 to a secular family. As a child he had no interest in religion. His first contact with the Reform movement was in 1967, when he joined a student delegation to Jewish communities in the United States. After returning to Israel, he joined the small Reform youth movement.
Regev studied law at Tel Aviv University Law School and went on to practice law. In the late 1970s, he began studying at the Reform movement′s rabbinical school, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1986. He served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as an assistant legal advisor in the Gaza Strip and Sinai and as military prosecutor for the Israeli Navy. He retired from military service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Regev has been executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center
Israel Religious Action Center
The Israel Religious Action Center also known as IRAC, was established in 1987 as the public and legal advocacy arm of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. It is located in Jerusalem, Israel. IRAC aims to defend equality, social justice, and religious pluralism within Israel, through the...
(IRAC), the political arm of the Reform movement in Israel, and President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
World Union for Progressive Judaism
The World Union for Progressive Judaism describes itself as the "international umbrella organization for the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements." This overall Jewish religious movement is based in about 40 countries with more than 1,000 affiliated synagogues...
. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz calls him “a charismatic figure who speaks eloquently and often sharply and has an impressive work output”, and credits him with changing the Reform Movement′s face in Israel and making IRAC the most active institution within the movement, turning it “into a factor that both the religious and political establishment cannot ignore”.
Regev successfully argued and won in the Supreme Court some of the recent landmark cases regarding Religion and State in Israel, including the recognition of Reform and Conservative conversion performed abroad. The long legal battle for the recognition of Reform conversion and the political struggle against the Conversion Law led to the appointment of the Ne'eman Commission, which recommended the creation of a common conversion institute for all three streams of Judaism - a recommendation that was accepted by the Chief Rabbinate.
Regev is a founding member of B'Tselem
B'Tselem
B'Tselem is an Israeli non-governmental organization . It calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories"...
, the organization monitoring human rights in the occupied territories, and has served on the boards of many Jewish organizations, including the World Zionist Organization
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
, the Jewish Agency, Rabbis for Human Rights
Rabbis for Human Rights
Rabbis for Human Rights-Israel is an Israeli human rights organisation describing itself as "the rabbinic voice of conscience in Israel, giving voice to the Jewish tradition of human rights"....
, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Association for Civil Rights in Israel
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel was created as an independent non-partisan organization to protect human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control....
.
Regev lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Garri. Their son and daughter in law are studying for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College and their daughter is a student at the Culinary Institute of America.