Reuven Wabashat
{{Short description|Ethiopian Chief Rabbi of Israel}}
Reuven Wabashat ({{Langx|he|ראובן וואבאשט}}; born 1971) is the current Ethiopian Chief Rabbi of Israel since 2018, a year after his predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Hadane, stepped down.{{Cite web |date=2018-02-01 |title=Reuven Wabashat becomes chief rabbi of Ethiopian community |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/reuven-wabashat-becomes-chief-rabbi-of-ethiopian-community-540376 |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Shiferaw |first=Kassahun |title=I’m proud to be a black Jew {{!}} Opinion {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2018-07-10/ty-article-opinion/.premium/im-proud-to-be-a-black-jew/0000017f-e0ca-d9aa-afff-f9daf2390000 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231108023336/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2018-07-10/ty-article-opinion/.premium/im-proud-to-be-a-black-jew/0000017f-e0ca-d9aa-afff-f9daf2390000 |archive-date=2023-11-08 |access-date=2025-02-20 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-12-26 |title=Gov't to create new positions in Religious Services Ministry - report |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-725845 |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}
Biography
Wabashat made aliyah to Israel from Ethiopia at the age of 2 in 1973 and grew up in Ramla.
In 1989, he was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces, serving in the Golani Brigade and later received his rabbinic ordination from Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.{{Cite web |title=Ethiopian community's new rabbi is hesder yeshiva graduate |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/235880 |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=www.israelnationalnews.com}}{{Cite web |date=2016-08-29 |title=Don’t Tell Me There Are No Qualified Ethiopian Israelis To Fill the Position |url=https://forward.com/opinion/348506/dont-tell-me-there-are-no-qualified-ethiopian-israelis-to-fill-the-position/ |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=The Forward |language=en}}