page_title: Jewish vegetarianism
section_title: Modern-day proponents
hierarchical_section_title: Jewish vegetarianism / In modern times / Modern-day proponents
caption_attribution_description: English: Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the UK, at National Poverty Hearing 2006 at Westminster, London.
context_page_description: Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding animal welfare, environmental ethics, moral character, and health as reasons for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.
context_section_description: While most modern-day Jews are not vegetarian, a number of prominent rabbis have advocated vegetarianism or veganism. In 2017, a statement by Jewish Veg encouraging veganism for all Jews was signed by notable rabbis including Jonathan Wittenberg, Daniel Sperber, David Wolpe, Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Kerry Olitzky, Shmuly Yanklowitz, Aryeh Cohen, Geoffrey Claussen, Rami M. Shapiro, David Rosen, Raysh Weiss, Elyse Goldstein, Shefa Gold, and Yonassan Gershom. Other notable rabbis who were vegetarian or spoke positively of vegetarianism include David Cohen (known as "Ha-Nazir"), Shlomo Goren, Irving Greenberg, Jeremy Gimpel, Asa Keisar, Jonathan Sacks, She'ar Yashuv Cohen, and Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Everett Gendler, Simchah Roth, Joseph Soloveitchik, and Abraham Isaac Kook. While Kook was not completely vegetarian, David Cohen wrote an influential essay, A Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace (first published in installments in 1903–04) summarizing Kook's ideas about the "coming of the new society" in which humankind becomes vegan.
  Other notable Jewish vegetarians include Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Reuven Rivlin, Franz Kafka, Richard H. Schwartz, Jonathan Safran Foer, Aaron S. Gross, Ori Shavit, Roberta Kalechofsky and Natalie Portman.
  The first Jewish-vegetarian cookbook has been compiled by Fania Lewando and was first published in 1938 in Vilnius. An English translation was issued in 2015.
  A number of groups promote Jewish vegetarianism:
  Jewish Veg was founded by Jonathan Wolf as Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) in 1975 to promote Jewish vegetarianism. JVNA changed its name to Jewish Veg in 2015. The organization has been noted for its 2007 film A Sacred Duty and for sponsoring university lecture tours by figures including Ori Shavit.
  SHAMAYIM: Jewish Animal Advocacy, founded and led by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, promotes a vegan diet in the Jewish community through animal welfare activism, kosher veganism, and Jewish spirituality. Prior to 2019, it was known as the Shamayim V'Aretz Institute.
  The Jewish Vegetarian Society (JVS) was co-founded (briefly as the Jewish Vegetarian and Natural Health Society, before the name was abbreviated) by Vivien and Philip Pick in the 1960s with the aim of promoting a kinder society without killing animals for food. Philip Pick was the first chairman of the organisation, with Maurice Norman Lester the first vice chairman and his wife Carole Lester its first secretary.
  Amirim, an Israeli vegetarian moshav (village), was founded in 1958. The founders of Amirim were motivated to create a vegetarian village because of their love for animals and concern for animal rights, as well as for health reasons. Both religious and non-religious families live at Amirim.
  The "Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI)" animal welfare organization promotes Jewish vegetarianism; CHAI's building project is named the Isaac Bashevis Singer Humane Education Center.
  Behemla is a Haredi organization that advocates against animal cruelty and promotes veganism.
  Animals Now is an Israeli animal rights organization that promotes Jewish vegetarianism on their website and has been described as a Jewish vegetarian organization. The group was known as Anonymous for Animal Rights from its founding in 1994 until 2018.
  Vegan Friendly is an organization in Tel Aviv that works to make veganism mainstream, organizes an annual "Vegan Congress", and promotes the vegan celebration of Jewish holidays.
  Jewish vegetarianism and veganism have become especially popular among Israeli Jews. In 2016, an op-ed argued that Israel was "the most vegan country on Earth", as five percent of its population eschewed all animal products. That number had more than doubled since 2010, when only 2.6 percent of Israelis were either vegan or vegetarian. Veganism is particularly popular in the city of Tel Aviv, which has been described as the "vegan capital of the world".
  Interest in veganism and vegetarianism has grown among Israel's diverse Jewish populations, including among secular Jews and Orthodox Jews. The Israeli rabbi A
caption: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
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