Born in Israel · Nationality Israeli — Religion / Judaism / Chief Rabbinate of Israel

David Lau

Also known as: David Baruch Lau, דוד לאו

Israeli rabbi born in 1966, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi from 2013 to 2024.

David Lau served as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi from 2013 to 2024. He was criticised for a racial slur about Black basketball players, denied an allegation of cheating in a 1993 ordination exam and opposed certain conversions outside the Chief Rabbinate. No personal conviction has been identified in relation to these controversies.

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Profile No. 6088 · Updated on 8 November 2026

1Documented controversy

2Sources

0Formal charge · all time

0Conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

July–August 2013

2013: disparaging remarks about Black basketball players

No legal proceedings

Speaking to yeshiva students, Lau used a derogatory Hebrew term for Black basketball players. Political figures condemned the wording.

State of the evidence: Reported remarks and Lau’s own response published by JTA.
Legal status — source text: No known personal criminal charges or conviction concerning these facts.
Attribution: Publicly contested stance or conduct, with no judicial finding of wrongdoing.

Sources · 2

[1]
Jewish Telegraphic AgencyDavid Lau, new Israeli chief rabbi, slammed for racial slur30 July 2013News agencyHigh reliability
[2]
Jewish Telegraphic AgencyIsraeli Chief Rabbi David Lau: Slur on blacks was a ‘joke’1 August 2013News agencyHigh reliability

Last verified: 8 November 2026

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II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

III. Has something changed?

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Controversia profile, updated 8 November 2026. Latest version: https://controversia.info/en/fiche/david-lau