Senior Rabbi of Beverly Hills appointed chair of Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce

Rabbi Pini Dunner, Senior Rabbi of Beverly Hills Synagogue in California, has been appointed as Chair of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce Beverly Hills - West Coast division.

"The chamber is very strong and influential in the eastern US, and it is important to me that we bring this to the western US as well so that if there are problems, we can have an influence," Dunner said in an exclusive interview with Maariv. 

"There are a lot of Israelis who live in Beverly Hills, so we hope to influence Israeli businesses through this as well," he added. 

Rabbi Pini Dunner is very well known in the Jewish world and regularly publishes articles on Judaism on websites such as Hidabroot and Srugim. 

Recently, he presented Israel's President Isaac Herzog with a book written by the president's grandfather.

Rabbi Dunner was born in England to Rabbi Aba Dunner.

Speaking of his residency in Beverley Hills, he told Maariv,  "There I can influence and give of myself for the community," adding "I'm almost never outside the community on Shabbat, in my opinion that's when the community needs me the most."

'Committed to fighting intolerance'

Duvi Honig, founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, said, "In the past, The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce has taken significant steps to protect Jewish businesses and the community from various attacks in Beverly Hills and across the West Coast. 

"There were instances such as standing up for Asher Caffe during an antisemitic boycott, stopping the UCLA Bear from being promoted around its campus with an image of it launching balloons over the border from Gaza to kill Israelis, and working closely with its ties to the administration having the President personally call out and condemn the antisemitic flyers distributed at his first Chanukah party.

According to Honig, such acts "underscore our commitment to fighting intolerance and hate."

"By appointing Rabbi Pini Dunner, we aim to build a stronger and more unified business network that will make our entire business world more unified and stronger," Honig noted. 

"The West Coast sector will undoubtedly strengthen various sectors in the business world, thereby strengthening the entire business community at an unprecedented level.

"In addition, we invited the Israeli consul to cooperate with us in building stronger ties between the West Coast and Israeli businesses," Honig stated. 

"This partnership is essential in these challenging times, as many Israeli businesses face significant obstacles."

"Together, we can foster resilience and growth and improve economic opportunities for all those involved."

As well as using the power of commerce to influence policy on behalf of the Jewish community and Israel, we will unite Orange County and other West Coast Jewish communities all under one umbrella at our launch and continue to build a stronger united community."