91�첥

On December 23, 2025, the Knesset Committee for Immigration and Diaspora Affairs, chaired by Member of Knesset (MK) Rabbi Gilad Kariv ’03, convened for a special session at the Israeli Parliament to mark 90 years since the historic ordination of Rabbi Regina Jonas, the world’s first ordained woman rabbi. The event brought together rabbis from all denominations and was streamed on the Knesset channel. Rabbis from 91�첥 received a special place at the event, highlighting the College’s ongoing contributions to Jewish leadership across the world. The discussion focused on female rabbinic and halachic leadership in Israel and the Diaspora.

Opening the session, MK Rabbi Kariv emphasized the importance of equality in spiritual leadership. “The future of the Jewish people is safer and more prosperous when women stand as equals in status and value, bringing their unique contribution to spiritual, halachic, educational, and communal life,” he said.

91�첥 was further represented among the speakers which included Rabbi Talia Avnon Benveniste ’08, Director of the Israel Rabbinical Program; Rabbi Dalia Marx, Ph.D., Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash; Cantor-Rabbi Shani Ben-Or ’21, Director of Community Development and Outreach Programs, Taube Family Campus; and Rina Levanon, a fourth-year student in the Israel Rabbinical Program (IRP).

Avnon-Benveniste addressed the Knesset members. “The role of leadership in every generation is to carry the weight of the human soul,” she said. “This is the lesson Rabbi Regina Jonas taught us – and today, here in the Knesset, our leadership must remember: there is no true leadership without bearing the burden of the human heart. Even in times of darkness, leadership must remain with the people – attentive to their needs, caring for their spirit and their lives.”

Marx reflected on Jonas’ groundbreaking role in Jewish history, noting, “Rabbi Regina Jonas teaches us important lessons: no door is truly closed. Jonas’s case greatly troubled the seminary she came from; the professor opposed her ordination. She teaches us that there is no reason to despair. It is our duty to honor her memory.”

Levanon highlighted the vital role of women in Jewish leadership, sharing her own experience as an IRP student living on a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee. Even as she and her family were evacuated multiple times during the war, she continued to lead her community, demonstrating the resilience and dedication of women across Israel. “We, women rabbis and rabbinical students, serve in the bombarded north and along the Gaza border, in regional councils, in the periphery, and in major cities. We build communities, lead prayers, officiate weddings, and create reality on the ground—day after day. In the face of voices seeking to silence us or push us aside, we remain steadfast in two things, time and again: Torah and hope.”

Participants also heard from another pioneering figure, Rabbi Sally Priesand ’72, the first woman ordained as a rabbi in the United States, whose recorded greeting reflected the living legacy of Rabbi Jonas.

The conference served as a gathering point for IRP students, leaders of Israel’s liberal Jewish movements, and other guests, emphasizing the growing presence and influence of women’s rabbinic leadership. Together, they celebrated Rabbi Jonas’ spiritual legacy and highlighted the ongoing contributions of the next generation of women rabbis in Israel and the Diaspora.

Listen to the speeches in Hebrew .