JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Will the devaluation of the use of the title “Rabbi” finally come to an end? In a formal appeal to Israel’s Chief Rabbis and the Minister of Religious Services, attorney Nehama Zibin argues that “while professional titles such as doctor, lawyer, and optometrist require licensing and legal certification, the title ‘Rabbi’ is open to anyone, a situation that creates belittlement and harms the status of the rabbinate.”

This week, attorney Zibin sent a letter titled “Request to Establish a Committee for the Legal Regulation of the Use of the Title ‘Rabbi’” to Israel’s Chief Rabbis, the Chief Rabbinate Council, and Minister of Religious Services Yariv Levin, demanding the formation of a committee to regulate the rabbinic profession by law.

In the letter, described as a “draft of final proceedings” ahead of a petition to the High Court of Justice, Zibin lays out a long series of legal and public arguments regarding the current lack of regulation.

In her appeal, Zibin notes that Israeli law strictly regulates the use of various professional titles. Titles such as lawyer, doctor, accountant, appraiser, psychologist, engineer, social worker, and optometrist all require licensing and certification, and unauthorized use constitutes a criminal offense.

According to her, “the use of titles is restricted to those holding appropriate licenses, and unlawful use is a criminal offense… This protection is intended to strengthen public trust and prevent deception.”

By contrast, she argues, the title “Rabbi” remains entirely unregulated. “Today, anyone can call themselves a ‘Rabbi,’ even without any training or formal certification. Essentially, anyone who wishes may take the title.”

In her view, this situation “creates degradation of the title, harms the status of the rabbinate, misleads the public, and creates a clear inequality between those who have been formally certified and those who bear the title without basis.”

Zibin emphasizes that there is an organized examination and certification system under the Chief Rabbinate for neighborhood rabbis, regional rabbis, and city rabbis, yet there is no legal barrier preventing an individual who has undergone none of these processes from presenting themselves as a “Rabbi.” She notes that lawmakers themselves have recognized the status of a “certified rabbi” in various contexts.

She also cites a district court ruling in the case of Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzira, where funds received by a rabbi in the course of his duties were deemed professional income. “This reveals an absurdity: the state recognizes rabbinate as a profession for taxation and obligations, yet does not protect the title itself.”

Among the sharper claims in the letter, Zibin points to cases of individuals bearing the title who were “exposed in acts… that neither reason nor paper can tolerate,” asking: “Should such individuals be permitted to adorn themselves with the rabbinic title?!”

In conclusion, she proposes establishing a committee to regulate the title, set standards, examine complaints against those deemed unfit to carry it, and impose civil and even criminal sanctions.

The appeal raises a fundamental question: in a state where nearly every profession requires licensing, can a title with broad public and religious significance remain without legal regulation?