After the Rabbanut Election Committee of Yerushalayim met this week and resolved outstanding issues, there is a likelihood that a date will be announced next week for elections to select chief rabbonim for the capital, after the positions have been vacant for over a decade.
According to the Shas-affiliated Yom L’Yom newspaper, the date is likely to be Rosh Chodesh Kislev.
The elections committee is headed by the Av Beis Din Yerushalayim HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Ben Shimon Shlita, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Also present at the meeting were HaGaon HaRav David Abuchatzera Shlita (Chief Rabbi of Yavne), Yisrael Pat (Legal advisor of the Ministry of Religious Affairs), R’ Nissim Elkaskasi (Bureau Chief of the Ministry of Religious Affairs), along with other legal experts.
The vaad has been working to address objections and other legal issues, hoping to finally hold elections without providing an arena for petitions to the High Court of Justice, which may delay the process indefinitely.
As it appears increasingly likely that a dati leumi chief Ashkenazi rabbi will be elected, it is also likely that MK Rav Moshe Gafne will be turning to the High Court of Justice to block elections. Gafne has stated in the past he will not accept the election of a dati leumi rav and stated he is willing to use the court system to delay this from occurring.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Gafne has stated in the past he will not accept the election of a dati leumi rav –IS THIS LEGAL? Not to accept a TORAH RAV that you are not on the same page as.
Don’t you understand if you take it away from a Yeshivasha and hand it to Dati Leumi that Gafni should fight it.
The voting board was originally 12 members with a Yeshivisha majority. Which meant a frum Yeshivisha Ruv.
However, it got changed to a 24 member board so the Yeshivasha community became a minority so Gafni fights those who changed the board!