Rabbis Inaugurate a Revived Sanhedrin in Tiberias

On 13 October 2004, rabbis held a ceremony in Tiberias to launch a Sanhedrin, the 71-member Jewish court that existed until roughly 425 CE. Organisers said its members had received a revived form of rabbinic ordination following Maimonides, and Temple Institute head Rabbi Yisrael Ariel took part. In February 2005 the body heard expert testimony on exactly where on the Temple Mount the Temple stood. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz was elected its president that June and resigned in 2008. It is not recognised by the state or the Chief Rabbinate. Image: Tiberias across the Sea of Galilee (present day), gugganij, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.