The election for chief rabbis of the capital is scheduled for Tuesday 27 Tishrei. There is tension in both the dati leumi and chareidi camps as each side is working diligently to ensure a victory.
Rabbi Chaim Druckman Shlita, a prominent senior rav/posek in the dati leumi community turned to Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Shlita, calling on him to drop out of the race. Rabbi Eliyahu, who also represents the dati leumi community, appears to enjoy the backing of the chareidi community as his piskei halacha and commitment to tradition are acceptable to gedolim shlita. However, Rabbi Druckman fears that Rabbi Eliyahu will pull votes and this will result in the defeat of the official dati leumi candidate, Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Shlomo Amar Shlita. Rabbi Eliyahu’s candidacy is not officially backed by the dati leumi community or Bayit Yehudi party, as the latter is backing Rav Amar and Rabbi Aryeh Stern.
Rabbi Druckman refers to the deal which calls for backing Rabbi Aryeh Stern Shlita for the Ashkenazi post and Rabbi Amar for the Sephardi post. Rav Druckman is aware that Rabbi Eliyahu’s candidacy may sabotage the dati leumi community’s program. This means that some of the support intended for Rav Amar will shift to Rabbi Stern and it may result in the loss of Rav Stern too as the deal will not be adhered to in either race, Ashkenazi and Sephardi.
At present there are no signals that Rabbi Eliyahu has any intention of dropping out of the Jerusalem Chief Rabbinate race.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Why isn’t Rav Shmuel Eliyahu the DL candidate & Rav Amar the Charadi candidate?
This is confusing!!!
i really appreciate the news you are giving me on this opportunity!!
Whatever happened to all the “achdus”?
common goals?
Who is “us”?
Remarkable?
The charedim are backing the Frummer “zionist” Rabbi Eliyahu,
Whilst the datim are backing the hitherto “non zionist” more liberal and vague Rabbi Amar
#1- Some five years ago, rabbanei hatzionut hadatit convened and elected harav Stern to be their candidate for the position of the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Since then, harav Stern’s candidacy has been the unwavering consensus of the D”L community. Until the passing of harav Ovadia it was agreed (or at least seen as inevitable) that he would nominate the candidate for the position of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. After his passing, the D”L leadership sought an appropriate candidate for Sephardic Chief Rabbi. Harav Eliyahu could have presented his candidacy, but declined to do so. The D”L leadership concluded that harav Amar was eminently worthy and convinced him to present his candidacy with the promise of the complete support of the D”L community. It would be highly unseemly, at the very least, to renege on that promise. To do so in order to back a rav who withheld his candidacy until the last moment would be even more unconscionable. If this is not enough (and it is) harav Eliyahu is being put forward together with harav Lau (as a package deal as it were) at the expense of the candidacy of harav Stern. For the D”L leadership to abandon both harav Amar and harav Stern for the sake of the last moment candidacy of harav Eliyahu is just unthinkable.
What saddens me is that the DL have turned this into an “Us and You” competition. The only reason to back anyone in any politic position is ONLY in order to protect the Torah from non-religious influences. We need people to represent us that fear Hashem and the Gedolim more than they fear man. That means being stiffed necked and bold enough to stand up for the Kavod of the Torah! That is not an easy task at all!
Arguing over what color kippa one wears and turning this into a matter of national pride is severely damaging and deeply rooted in utter ignorance!
Shame on those that act in the ways of goyim and put personal pride before the Torah!!!!
‘What saddens me is that the DL have turned this into an “Us and You” competition.’
True, but the charedim long ago turned the elections for Chief Rabbi of Israel into just that kind of competition.