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The International Israelite Board of Rabbis is the oldest historically African American Rabbinical board in the United States, whose founders preserved synagogues in Black neighborhoods in New York City and Chicago, and whose teachings launched the spread of nonviolentTorah observance among thousands of African-American Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite adherents since 1919. The board originated from the 1925 incorporation of Ethiopian Hebrew Rabbinical College in New York City. As a non-denominational institution, it has focused on guiding Rabbis and scholars under its auspices to advance Torah observance among Black Jews in New York City, and build bridges with both mainstream American Jewish communities and non-MessianicBlack Hebrew congregations. With time, the board has grown to represent Rabbis of congregations in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The board tolerates leniency in Halakha provided that Rabbis adhere to a maximalist view of the Tanakh, and require observance of Biblical commandments by members of their congregations (see: De-'oraita and de-rabbanan, meaning "Torah commandments vs. Rabbinic enactments"). While the International Israelite Board of Rabbis has a century-long congregational history, the trend of broader recognition of the Board and its constituent Rabbis as equal to other American Jewish leaders has accelerated since the 2019 centennial celebration of its oldest congregation and the heightened focus on Black–Jewish relations during the ensuing racial unrest in the United States (2020-Present).
While congregational Rabbis have local oversight of affairs (see: Mara d'atra), the International Israelite Board of Rabbis holds the Chief Rabbi responsible for advocating for its constituents' interests and recognition by other national bodies. He also presides over the ordination of the Rabbis, and serves as the Rosh Yeshiva of the Israelite Academy (founded in 1925 as the Ethiopian Hebrew Rabbinical College).
Chief Rabbi Wentworth Arthur Matthew (1892-1973): Founder of the board and founder of the Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, the first Black synagogue to formally incorporate in New York City (1919).
No mainstream Jewish denominations accept this council as legitimate. Most members are not considered "Jewish" by any mainstream Jewish denomination, and most rabbis involved have no legitimate rabbinical training. A small number, however, have joined local boards of Rabbis, such as Rabbi Capers Funnye joining both the Chicago and New York Board of Rabbis.
