Hundreds of thousands attend funeral of Israel's Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky

94-year-old was one of the country's most influential scholars

Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky in Bnei Brak, Israel, on Sunday. AP

Hundreds of thousands have attended the funeral of a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, 94, one of the country's most influential scholars, died on Friday.

Israeli media estimated more than 350,000 people on Sunday attended the funeral procession from his home to a nearby cemetery in the city near Tel Aviv where he lived.

He was born in Pinsk, Belarus, and moved to what was then British-ruled Palestine as a child. He was one of the few remaining leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel born before the Holocaust and was revered by many in the Jewish religious world.

Police closed several major roads in Israel’s densely populated Tel Aviv area to traffic for several hours. Other main thoroughfares were expected to be gridlocked. Authorities urged the public not to drive into the area by car. The Communications Ministry said it was expecting mobile phone networks to be down in the area due to high volume, and advised people to make only essential calls.

Aerial footage of the funeral showed enormous throngs of mourners, most dressed in the signature black suits and black hats typical of ultra-Orthodox men, filling Bnei Brak’s narrow streets for blocks around the rabbi’s house.

The insular ultra-Orthodox community makes up about 12 per cent of Israel’s 9.4 million people. Its members adhere to a stringent interpretation of Judaism, with a focus on Torah study and observance of tradition. Prominent rabbis play a significant role in community life and act as arbiters in all matters.

Funerals are important in traditional Jewish life, with those of rabbis often drawing thousands of mourners.

Although he held no official position, Kanievsky was considered a luminary in the non-Hassidic ultra-Orthodox world. He came to public prominence at the start of the coronavirus pandemic when he instructed his followers that closing religious seminaries was more harmful than the virus. He later withdrew those claims as infections raged in Bnei Brak.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting that Kanievsky’s death was “a great loss to the Jewish people”. On Saturday, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu paid his respects at Kanievsky’s home.