Henry Isaac Sobel (Lisbon, 9 January 1944 – Miami, 22 November 2019) was a Portuguese-American Reform rabbi, and was president of the Congregação Israelita Paulista (CIP), a major Jewish congregation in São Paulo, Brazil.
Son of Ashkenazi Jews who fled the Nazi persecution during the World War II (Belgian father and Polish mother), Sobel was born in Lisbon, Portugal. While he was an infant his family moved to New York City where he grew up and was eventually ordained a reform rabbi in 1970. In the same year, he accepted an invitation to be the rabbi at Congregação Israelita Paulista and established himself in São Paulo, Brazil. In his own words, it "made possible my actuation in the social and politic fronts and gave me the chance of engaging myself". As of 2007, he had two colleagues sharing the rabbinate, Rabbi Michel Schlesinger and Rabbi Yehuda Busquila.
During the 1970 and 1980's Sobel had an extraordinary role in protecting the human rights in Brazil (at that time governed by the military). Along with Catholic Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns and others, Sobel showed great courage in denouncing the assassination of journalist Vladimir Herzog by right wing military in Brazil.
He had also a great role in promoting inter-religious dialogue in Brazil and elsewhere by cultivating excellent relations with Catholic dignitaries, including the Pope John Paul II. During more than 30 years, Sobel was recognized as an informal leader of the reform Jewish community in São Paulo.
Sobel has one daughter, Alisha, born in São Paulo in 1983.
On March 23, 2007, Sobel was arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, accused of shoplifting US680worthofneckties.Hewasreleasedona3,000 bail and returned to São Paulo. He initially denied the accusations and then requested a suspension from his position at CIP.
On March 30, Sobel was admitted to Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. According to the doctors, due to "an episode of mood disorder, represented by a lack of emotional control and altered behavior.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.