Rabbi Shlomo Binyamin Schreiber, Influential Haredi and Religious Zionist Education Supervisor, Dies at 87

Rabbi Shlomo Binyamin Schreiber passed away at the age of 87. He served for decades as the chief supervisor of Haredi and religious-Zionist educational institutions within the Israeli Ministry of Education. In this role, he oversaw the establishment and official approval of numerous yeshivas, including the prominent Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, until about twenty years ago. Colleagues Rabbi Hasar and Rabbi Dudkevitz noted his significant contributions to founding and regulating yeshivas such as Kedumim and Yitzhar.

In addition to his educational work, Rabbi Schreiber had a long military career as an IDF officer, including a sensitive role as an intelligence officer responsible for casualty notifications, providing support to families during their most difficult moments. He was widely regarded as a deeply committed Zionist who integrated his dedication to the state with his devotion to Torah study throughout his life.

Born in Galicia to a rabbinic family, Schreiber lost his parents during World War II and survived as an orphan in Siberia. After the war, he was brought to Israel as part of a rescue operation for orphaned children. His father's tefillin imprint helped identify his religious background and place him in an appropriate educational framework. He grew up in the Horev boarding school, served as a counselor in the Bnei Akiva youth movement alongside Rabbi Chaim Druckman, and studied at Yeshivat HaDarom before moving to Yeshivat Hebron, where his sharpness in study was recognized. He was also a study partner of Rabbi Avraham Shapira, former Chief Rabbi of Israel and head of Mercaz HaRav, maintaining a close relationship over the years.

Rabbi Schreiber was connected to leaders of the religious Zionist movement, including Minister Zevulun Hammer, and supported the development of religious-Zionist and Haredi-Zionist yeshivas. His son, Ephraim Schreiber, is a senior official in the Jewish Culture Division of the Ministry of Education.