page_title: Shlomo Riskin
section_title: Controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Shlomo Riskin / Controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: CJCUC Founder, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, and CJCUC Executive Director, David Nekrutman with Pope Francis in Rome, Italy, October 2016.
context_page_description: Shlomo Riskin is an Orthodox rabbi, and the founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he led for 20 years; founding chief rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the West Bank; dean of Manhattan Day School in New York City; and founder and Chancellor of the Ohr Torah Stone Institutions, a network of high schools, colleges, and graduate Programs in the United States and Israel. He belongs to the Modern Orthodox stream of Judaism.
context_section_description: Rabbi Riskin's term as Chief Rabbi of Efrat was extended by five years on June 28, 2015, after a month-long controversy in which the Chief Rabbinate was allegedly planning to retire him at age 75 because of his religious views on the advancement of women in Orthodoxy and an inclusive approach towards conversion.
  Rabbi Riskin was accused of comparing U.S. President Barack Obama to the antagonist of the Book of Esther, Haman, in a March 28, 2015, speech in the Grand Synagogue in Jerusalem.
  In April 2015, Riskin's launching of the Day to Praise interfaith joint praise initiative caused an uproar within the Haredi and other conservative-Orthodox Jewish circles. In a statement, the once chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel, and the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, expressed his "stomach churning" in light of the joint Hallel prayer of Jews and Christians in a synagogue in Jerusalem being led by Rabbi Riskin. In a rebuttal, Rabbi Riskin defended his actions, stating that, "We are talking about a thanksgiving prayer to G-d that would include Christians who worship His actions towards the Jewish people and the Land of Israel... What could possibly be more appropriate?". Later that year, in September, on the eve of Rosh HaShana (The beginning of the Jewish New Year), Riskin's claim was given further backing by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki. In an article written for The Times of Israel, Wolicki wrote: "While discomfort is understandable, we dare not assume that what is uncomfortable and new is therefore forbidden."
  In 2010, Riskin appeared in a video where he referenced Jesus with a title of Rabbi, and called Jesus a "model Rabbi", referring to the historical origins of Jesus as a Jew, and not of the modern perception of Jesus. Many took Riskin's statements out of context, claiming that Riskin's statements are incompatible with mainstream theologies in other forms of Judaism. Riskin explained in an additional statement that a poor edit to the video left out his explanation elaborating upon the fundamental differences between the religions, and the historical context within which his statements were made.
caption: Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, and CJCUC Executive Director, David Nekrutman, meet with Pope Francis in Rome, Italy, 26 October 2016
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