Rabbi Yehuda Gerami

Type of wearer: Chief Rabbi Candidate, Rabbi

Affiliation: Charedi, Sepharadi

A certain Joshua Ishal originally tipped me off that he saw R’ Gerami wearing Techeiles while he was raising funds in the US.  -RH

To quote from a text (May 17, 2025):

“The Chief Rabbi of Iran was in town today and you won’t believe what I saw on his talit… He was walking up the stairs as I was walking down so I couldn’t see details. I don’t know tying style or string ratio. But he was very obviously wearing Techelet on his talit gadol. Rabbi Yehuda Gerami, Chief Rabbi of Iran”

Also, on April 11, 2025, Rabbi Gerami was seen wearing a fancy blue striped Tallis during a Siyum for Taanis Bechoros. In later pictures he’s wearing a regular white Tallis with white strings. So he likely only has it on his Shabbos Tallis.

From Wikipedia:

Yehuda Gerami (born 1983 or 1984) is the Chief Rabbi of Iran and spiritual leader for the Jewish community of Iran since 2011.[1]

Biography
Gerami was born in Tehran. His father, Shlomo Gerami, was a surgeon in many hospitals in Tehran including the Dr. Sapir Jewish Hospital. He went to Talmud Torah. At the age of 15, he went from Turkey to Jerusalem to study in Yeshivas Ateres Yisrael, under Rav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi. He then came back to Iran for a year and then continued his Jewish studies in Yeshivas Ner Israel in Baltimore, Maryland which has a government-sanctioned arrangement with Iran. He continued his studies in the United States until he got his rabbinical ordination under Rav Moshe Heinemann at the age of 25. He then returned to Iran and served as Chief Rabbi. Under this position, he oversees the Jewish community and supervises synagogues, mikvehs and kosher slaughter. [2] In 2021, Gerami took part in the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States’ first summit in Istanbul, Turkey.[3]

In November 2021 Gerami visited Jewish communities in the United States and met with many Jewish organizations such as Chabad Lubavitch. He was criticized by many American Jewish leaders for his public denunciation of the State of Israel and Zionism, and his visit to Qasem Soleimani’s house in the aftermath of Soleimani’s death.[4][5][6] Speaking to an American audience, Gerami has justified his statements as having been made out of concern for the safety of the Jewish community in Iran.[7]

References
“Leader of Iran’s Jews stresses they ‘have no interest in politics'”. Israel Hayom. November 25, 2021.
“Behind the Persian Curtain”. 23 March 2021.
“The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States: A Summit for Jewish Communities Old and New”. The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
“Rejecting Rabbi Gerami’s ‘hechsher’ of Iran’s ayatollah regime”. 15 November 2021.
“Iran’s Chief Rabbi Meets Global Rabbinic Leaders on Visit to New York”. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
Eichner, Itamar (3 November 2021). “Iran chief rabbi’s visit to U.S. Draws outrage among Jewish community”. Ynetnews.
“In US, Iran’s head rabbi says he condemned Soleimani killing to protect Jews | the Times of Israel”. The Times of Israel.