Introduction
Rafi Peretz (Hebrew: רפי פרץ; born 1956) is the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, succeeding Rabbi Avichai Rontzki in mid-2010.
Prior to being promoted to the rank of brigadier general, Peretz was the head of the Otzem Pre-Military Academy in Yated, which was relocated from Bnei Atzmon, where he established it in 1993 and a major (reserves) in the Israeli Air Force, where he served as a helicopter pilot.
Controversy
In November 2014, at a tense time in Jerusalem, Peretz caused a public controversy by announcing that the Temple Mount has no religious significance to the Muslim religion. He was quoted as saying, "“Ninety percent of the Arabs don’t know a thing about the Koran. I tell you with full authority. We know better than many of them."The IDF quickly distanced itself from the rabbi's statements and stated,"The rabbi is sorry if his remarks offended the Arab population."The Jerusalem Post characterized Peretz's denigrating comments as "explosive."