Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau was born 1937 in Pyotrekov, Poland. He lost his parents during the Holocaust. Israel Meir Lau is a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp.
After his liberation he immigrated to Israel and lived with his uncle. He learned at a religious state school in Kiryat Shmuel. He then studied at Talmud academies in Jerusalem, Zichron Ya'akov and Bnei Brak.

1971 Israel Meir Lau was ordained and served as rabbi in the Or Torah congregation in Tel Aviv. In the same year he was appointed rabbi of Northern Tel Aviv. 1979 he was chosen Chief Rabbi of Netanya and in 1983 he became a member of the Rabbinical Council where he served on the committee for Medical Ethics.

From 1988 to 1993, Israel Meir Lau served as Chief Rabbi and head of the Rabbinical Court of Tel Aviv-Yafo. 1993 he was elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel. After completing his term of office, he was reappointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Among his publications are: "Yahadut - Halachah Le'ma'aseh" on Judaism in daily life and the two volumes of "Yachel Israel" on medicine, ethics and Jewish customs. He is a noted public speaker in Hebrew and English on a range of subjects, and notably the Shoah (Holocaust).