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Citing Brexit, European rabbinical group moves headquarters from London to Munich
(JTA) — One of Europe’s most prominent associations of Orthodox rabbis is moving its headquarters from London to Munich in a ripple effect from the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.
“Germany is one of the only countries in Europe where the Jewish community is growing and the political climate is conducive to build Jewish life there,” Conference of European Rabbis President Pinchas Goldschmidt told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an email on Wednesday, confirming that Brexit was a leading factor in the move.
The rabbinical group had been based in London since it was founded in 1956 and has around 1,000 member rabbis from across Europe, from Dublin to Vladivostok.
The announcement came on Tuesday, as the CER presented its Lord Jakobovits Prize to Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder for his “outstanding commitment to the protection and promotion of Jewish life in Europe.” The ceremony took place in Munich’s Ohel-Jakob Synagogue, which was completed in 2006 in the center of the city.
The synagogue and its community center will also be home to the CER’s planned Center for Jewish Life, which will offer educational opportunities for traditional rabbis and their spouses.
In addition, the CER plans to host international conferences in the city. The Center is to be funded mainly by the Bavarian State Government, with additional funds coming from private donors, Goldschmidt told JTA.
At Tuesday’s award ceremony, Söder reiterated his commitment to fighting antisemitism. He emphasized that the new Center was about celebrating Jewish life, which “should be able to develop free and safe in Bavaria.”
The move has been a few years in the making. After Brexit, the CER leadership “felt that the headquarters should be in the center of Europe,” Goldschmidt said. Then, the Bavarian government invited the CER to hold its 32nd congress in Munich, and Söder and Munich Jewish Community President Charlotte Knobloch invited the group to move in.
Goldschmidt said his group has been working closely with the German Jewish community, on the local and national levels, as well as with the country’s Orthodox Rabbinical Conference.
Central Council of Jews in Germany President Josef Schuster, who also hails from Bavaria, told the JTA in an email that his group was pleased with the decision by the CER, “whose goal is to promote and protect Jewish life throughout Europe.”
“The fact that it will do this from Germany in the future …will enrich and strengthen Jewish discourse in our country,” he wrote.
Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, said at Tuesday’s award ceremony that she was “proud and happy to see that my hometown of Munich has become one of the most important Jewish centers in Europe today.”
Before Hitler came to power in 1933, there were about 500,000 Jews in Germany. After World War II, when most Holocaust survivors left Europe for the United States or Israel, there were some 25,000 Jews in former West Germany. Today, there are about 90,000 members of Jewish communities in Germany and as many as 100,000 more who are unaffiliated. The vast majority have roots in the former Soviet Union. In the past decade, many Israelis have also made Germany their home. More recently, a few thousand Ukrainian Jews have found refuge in Germany.
The current Jewish population of Munich is about 9,000, according to the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Goldschmidt, the former chief rabbi of Moscow, himself fled to Israel last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the future, he will be shuttling between Israel and Germany. He said that he and Schuster had been “discussing how to integrate rabbis, rabbinical schools and refugees from Russia and Ukraine in Germany.”
“To be a refugee and emigrant is never easy,” Goldschmidt said. “However, I see it as my mission to utilize these challenging times and waves of dislocated Jews and communities, to strengthen the Jewish communities of Europe. It is a one in a lifetime opportunity.”
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The post Citing Brexit, European rabbinical group moves headquarters from London to Munich appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Some Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz Before Shots Fired, Ship-Tracking Data Shows
A satellite image shows the ship movement at the Strait of Hormuz on April 17, 2026, in Space. EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2/Handout via REUTERS
More than a dozen tankers, including three sanctioned vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after a 50-day blockade was lifted on Friday, shipping data showed, before Iran reimposed restrictions on Saturday and fired at some vessels.
Reopening the strait is key for Gulf producers to resume full oil and gas supplies to the world, and end what the International Energy Agency has called the worst-ever supply disruption.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday Iran had agreed to open the strait, while Iranian officials said they wanted the US to fully lift its blockade of Iranian tankers.
Western shipping companies cautiously welcomed the announcements but said more clarity was needed, including on the presence of sea mines, before their vessels could transit.
IRAN RESUMES RESTRICTIONS
The ships that passed through the strait on Friday and Saturday via Iranian waters south of Larak island were mainly older, non-Western-owned vessels and included four sanctioned ships, according to ship-tracking data.
Iran arranged passage for a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships following prior agreements in negotiations, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
Other ships have been seen approaching the strait and turning back as Iran said it would maintain strict controls as long as the US continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The UK Navy reported on Saturday that Iranian gunboats fired at some ships attempting to cross the strait.
Some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying the strait was shut again and that no ships were allowed to pass, shipping sources said on Saturday.
Ship-tracking data showed five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas from Ras Laffan in Qatar approaching the strait on Saturday morning.
No LNG cargoes have transited the waterway since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
Hundreds of ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the conflict started and Tehran closed the strait, forcing Gulf oil and gas producers to sharply cut production.
Top producers such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait say they need steady tanker flows and unrestricted passage through the strait to resume normal export operations.
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Trump Greenlights Russian Oil to Ease Strain on Global Markets After War with Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, DC, US, March 27, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
i24 News – The Trump administration has authorized a 30-day emergency waiver allowing the maritime purchase of Russian oil, reversing a hardline stance in an effort to stabilize skyrocketing global energy prices.
The Treasury Department announced Friday that the license for crude and petroleum products will remain in effect until May 16, 2026, responding to intense pressure from international partners struggling with the fallout of the war with Iran.
This policy pivot comes as a surprise after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier this week that no further exemptions would be granted:
“As negotiations with Iran accelerate, the administration seeks to ensure oil availability for those who need it most. We must prevent a total price collapse for consumers while the geopolitical situation remains volatile.”
Ensuring global oil availability is paramount for the US as over 80 energy facilities in the Middle East have been damaged by recent war with Iran. With the November midterm elections approaching, record-high fuel prices at the pump remain a primary vulnerability for the Republican party. By allowing Russian oil back into the maritime flow, the administration hopes to neutralize “pain at the pump” before voters head to the polls.
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UK: Islamist Group Claims to Attack Israeli Embassy with ‘Drones Carrying Radioactive, Carcinogenic Materials’
A UK man has been arrested for allegedly threatening a group of Jews while wielding an ax on Rosh Hashanah. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – British police officers in protective clothing were seen investigating a “security incident” near the Israeli embassy in London on Friday, after a jihadist group put out a video showing it launching two drones allegedly carrying radioactive and carcinogenic materials toward the embassy.
“There is an increased police presence in Kensington Gardens and officers are assessing a number of discarded items. As a precaution, some of the officers who have been deployed are wearing protective clothing. We recognize this may concern local residents and the wider public,” police said in a statement.
“Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of a video shared online overnight in which a group claims to have targeted the nearby embassy of Israel with drones carrying dangerous substances,” the statement further read. “While we can confirm that the embassy has not been attacked, we are carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens.”
The incident comes amid a steep hike in antisemitic attacks in Britain targeting Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions.
The group that released the video was identified as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, a shadowy entity with suspected ties to Iran. It has already claimed seven attacks against Jewish institutions, including an arson attack in London where four ambulances owned by the Hatzolah charity were torched.