Gabriel Kanter-Webber
Gabriel Kanter-Webber is a British rabbi, and the first openly autistic rabbi in the United Kingdom. He received semichah in summer 2022, after training at Leo Baeck College, and is rabbi of Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue, succeeding Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah who retired in 2021. His arrival in Brighton was covered by local news.
He also serves as chaplain to the University of Sussex.
Education and career
Kanter-Webber studied his undergraduate degree at the University of Sussex, during which time he was also headteacher of the Progressive Synagogue's cheder. After graduating from university, he spent a year as a youth worker for LJY-Netzer.He previously sat on the Board of Deputies of British Jews. In 2015, Jewish News listed him as number 7 on their list of 25 young Jewish leaders to watch.
Kanter-Webber also officiated at Britain's first bar mitzvah for a non-binary teen and at the first Jewish burial in the city of York for 8 centuries.
His Leo Baeck College dissertation calls for abusive rabbis to have their rabbinic ordination taken away.
In 2022, he reported a Board of Deputies of British Jews member for making racist comments about Desmond Tutu, sparking a Board of Deputies investigation.
In 2025, he was reported to have "confronted" the chief executive of the Board of Deputies at a service in his synagogue.
Personal life
Kanter-Webber is married with two children.Publications
- in Tablet
- in European Judaism
- in ''Slavery-Free Communities''
Links
- , Rabbi Kanter-Webber's website