Kotel Dadon (; born December 12, 1967) is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

of the Bet Israel community in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. Da-Don, who was born and educated in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, settled in Zagreb in 1998. He was the

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Croatia from 1998 to 2006.

Early life and education

Dadon was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, to

Moroccan Jewish Moroccan Jews (; ; ) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were much later met by a second wave of migrants fro ...

parents. He finished his religious education at the Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem, where he studied from 1987 until 1991. From 1991 until 1995, Dadon studied and finished rabbinic education at the rabbinical academy of Midrash Sephardi in Jerusalem, where he received his diploma in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. Dadon graduated from the

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

, where he studied from 1991 until 1995. He joined the

Israel Bar Association Israel Bar Association (; IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers. History The Israel Bar Association was established by The Bar Association Law, 1961. The law went into effect in March 1962. The Association is organized as a cor ...

in 1995.

Work in Croatia

Dadon first visited Croatia in 1993, when he was sent to Zagreb by his university rabbi, with the duty of leading religious services for the Jewish community in Zagreb. He visited Zagreb again, in 1994. In 1995 he was invited to Zagreb as a rabbi of the Jewish community. After finishing his studies, Dadon moved to Zagreb in 1998. In the same year he was named the chief rabbi of Croatia. This position had been vacant for more than fifty years, as there were no rabbis in Croatia since Dadon's predecessor Miroslav Šalom Freiberger died as a victim of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in 1943. Dadon held that position until 2006, when the council of the Jewish Community in Zagreb refused to extend his contract, and instead appointed new rabbi Zvi Eliezer Alonie. After that, there was a schism within the community. Da-Don filed a lawsuit at the municipal court in Zagreb, where he sought his return to the position of chief rabbi, with the salary of 15,000 HRK. The group supported by Da-Don:

Ivo Goldstein Ivo Goldstein (; born 16 March 1958) is a historian, author and ambassador from Croatia. Goldstein is a recipient of the Order of Danica Hrvatska (2007) and the City of Zagreb Award (2005). Biography Education Ivo Goldstein graduated from ...

and

Slavko Goldstein Slavko Goldstein (22 August 1928 – 13 September 2017) was a Croatian historian, politician, and fiction writer. Biography Early life Slavko Goldstein was born in Sarajevo in the Jewish family of Ivo and Lea Goldstein. His grandfather Aron ...

, split from the Jewish Community of Zagreb led by Ognjen Kraus and Jakov Bienenfeld, and established a new Jewish community, Bet Israel, also based in Zagreb. Bet Israel was officially recognized on 21 July 2006 by the European rabbinical conference, and that same year Ivo Goldstein was elected as their first president. The Jewish Community of Zagreb appointed Zvi Eliezer Alonie as their new rabbi. Relations between the two Jewish communities in Zagreb have remained strained, primarily due to unresolved property issues. Dadon worked as a professor of rabbinic studies at the

Budapest University of Jewish Studies The Budapest University of Jewish Studies ( / ''Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies'' / ) is a university in Budapest, Hungary. It was opened in 1877, a few decades after the first European Rabbinical seminary, rabbinica ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. In 2006 Da-Don completed his doctoral studies on Jewish theology. Since 2006, Dadon teaches at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. He also teaches at the Croatian Military Academy.

Personal life

Dadon married Agnes Eva Dadon in 1995, who is of

Hungarian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

descent. Together they have four children, Emanuel-Israel, Aviad-David, Jonathan-Moshe and Simcha-Zsuzsi. In 2009 his eldest son, Emanuel-Israel, celebrated his

Bar Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

at the Bet Israel in Zagreb, second Bar Mitzvah celebrated in Croatia since the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Dadon is a Croatian citizen and is fluent in Croatian. Dadon is the author of “Judaism: Way of Life, Philosophy and Theology.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Da-Don, Kotel 1967 births Living people 21st-century Croatian rabbis 20th-century Croatian rabbis Croatian Orthodox rabbis Israeli emigrants to Croatia Naturalized citizens of Croatia Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Modern Orthodox rabbis Chief rabbis of Croatia Rabbis from Zagreb