In an acceptable but somewhat uncommon move, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has decided not to renew the contract of IDF Chief Rabbi Brigadier-General Avichai Ronsky, resulting in his terminating his tenure as the head of the army’s Rabbinate. Barak approached IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gabi Ashkenazi, who appears to be going along with the decision. Ronsky will complete his four-year term as the defense minister is not adding additional years as is usually customary.
A decision not to renew a contract is an ‘acceptable’ way of parting with a senior officer who does not necessarily agree with the party line, as was the case with Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon, today a Likud Party cabinet minister. He was ousted by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who felt the then chief of staff was too opposed to the planned Disengagement Plan, opting not to renew his contract and thereby eliminate the opposition that he might face from the most senior IDF commander. Following the Disengagement in 2005, IDF Chief Rabbi Brigadier-General Yisrael Weiss stepped down, only to publically apologize at a later date for not opposing the expulsion of Jews from their homes.
While Ronsky’s term has led to more than a bid of controversy among rabbonim, pertaining to some of his halachic rulings, he represents a new generation chief rabbi, one who formerly served as a combat soldier. Shaul Mofaz compelled Major-General Gad Navon z”l to step down after serving for years as the IDF chief rabbi. Rav Navon died at the age of 84 in 2006, and he was compelled to leave the military in 2000 after 23 years in the IDF as chief rabbi. One of the leading candidates for the post is Rabbi Rafi Peretz; an IAF certified combat pilot and rosh yeshiva, head of one of the IDF preparatory Mechina programs, which was located in Atzmona prior to the expulsion from Gaza.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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We are told that “a decision not to renew a contract is an ‘acceptable’ way of parting with a senior officer who does not necessarily agree with the party line . . ” What was the disagreement between Rov Ronsky and the “party line?”