Rabbi Jacob Luski is rabbi emeritus of Congregation B’nai Israel (CBI) of St. Petersburg, Florida. He was born in Havana, Cuba and immigrated with his family to the United States when he was 11. Rabbi Jacob Luski graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management. From there, he enrolled in the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, New York, where he received his Master of Arts in 1974, and then continued at JTS to graduate from Rabbinical School, At CBI, he established meaningful educational experiences and activities such as the JTS Tampa Bay Outreach Lecture Series, the first Mitzvah Day in Pinellas County, and Congregational trips to Israel. He also established the Hevra Kadisha Burial Society to ensure respectful and spiritual care for Jewish people after death. For 26 years, he has been the Jewish Chaplain at the VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, Florida. Both he and his wife Joanne, were instrumental in founding the Pinellas County Jewish Day School, welcoming the school on the CBI campus as it grew over it’s first 11 years. Rabbi Luski founded the Vaad Kashrut of Pinellas County, to ensure Kosher supervision for local hotels, restaurants, and caterers. After retiring from Congregation B’nai Israel in June of 2018 and earning the title of Rabbi Emeritus, he continues his support of Israel as the 17th Chairperson of the International Rabbinic Advisory Council of the State of Israel Bonds.