GATESHEAD: A Kabolas Ponim was held to welcome the community’s new Av Beis Din, HaRav Yisroel Mantel, attended by the city’s roshei yeshiva and rabbanim.

The position had remained vacant for nearly five years after HaRav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman stepped down in 2020 to become Av Beis Din of the Federation communities in London.

HaRav Mantel, formerly Av Beis Din of Kahal Adas Jeshurun in Washington Heights (Breuers), recently relocated to Gateshead to be near his children and accepted the community’s request to serve as its new Av Beis Din.