N9N: Actually Ashkenazic is closer to the Second Beis HaMikdash practices. Sefardic pronounciation was selected by the anti-religious Ben-Yehuda for Ivrit. Israel is 51%/49% Ashkenazic/Sefardic according to the Israeli Bureau of Statistics and the Ashkenazic secular elite dominate Israeli culture and politics.
Also see my comment to YO.