The Bennett government is continuing its war against religion by ensuring that it can control the section of the next Chief Rabbanim, ensuring of course that they are not Chareidi.
A debate is scheduled for Sunday in the Knesset’s Legislative Committee on a bill submitted by Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz that will change the way Chief Rabbanim are selected. The bill was formulated with the input of Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
The bill will use the same tactic that Kahana is using to take control over the selection of municipal Rabbanim – by changing the rules for the makeup of the electoral body so that he and other like-minded representatives will have the majority vote.
According to a Kikar H’Shabbat report, the Bennett government wants to elect two Chief Rabbanim, one supported by Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and the other supported by Yamina.
The government also intends to bring forward the date of the elections for the Chief Rabbanim to the beginning of 2023, prior to the date Lapid is scheduled to enter the prime minister’s chair, in order to ensure their election even if the government doesn’t last. [The terms of the incumbent Chief Rabbanim will not be shortened, only the election process for the next Rabbanim will be advanced.]
The bill’s explanatory notes begin by trying to justify the bill by claiming that “the status of the Rabbanut is diminishing” and that this is “closely tied to the manner in which they are appointed.”
The notes then further claim that “in the current situation, the Chief Rabbis and Rabbinical Council do not represent the entire Jewish public in Israel” because the electoral body is “mainly comprised of representatives of the Rabbanut” and also “doesn’t guarantee adequate representation for women in the electoral body.”
The bill also changes the criteria necessary to run for the position of Chief Rabbi. According to Kikar H’Shabbat, Kahana is purposely changing the criteria to eliminate the possibility of certain senior Rabbanim who are opposed to his reforms from submitting their candidacy. However, Kahana’s office denies this.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
16 Responses
Who cares.
Chareidim and heimisha will not recognize these newly appointed reform or female clergy anyways just as we don’t recognize Lapid.
Sheigetz Bennett and Antisemite Lapid.
The notes then further claim that “in the current situation, the Chief Rabbis and Rabbinical Council do not represent the entire Jewish public in Israel” Gee!!! This sounds so exactly like wicked bennett who only represent 6 seats, certainly not the entire Jewish Public in Israel, whereas the venerated Bibi Netanyahu represents 30 seats, a way more representative of the Jewish public in Israel.
Will they do worse than the previous Ashkenazi CR, who had Haredi support and went to jail?
The ones who launched a “war against religion” were arguably the ones who foisted on the rabbinate a certain former chief rabbi who was not a dayan and later went to prison.
YEMACH SHMOM V’ZICHROM!
It’s Adar. The days of Purim is upon us.
Just like Amoleik had a downfall, so will these wicked Hamans have a downfall b’koroiv b’yomeinu…
What happened to Benet’s skullcap? Did it shrink in the wash to the size he wears today?
Gevalt! Missile and bomb threats from Iraq, Hamas and ISIS at our borders, earthquakes shaking us up, and the evil reshayim in our midst are trying to remove the very Torah and Mitzvos that protect us. Wake up! Let us improve ourselves while we doven for the downfall of these reshayim and hope for the yeshua this Purim!
How does ensuring that the next chief rabbis are not charedi constitute “a war against religion”? Are only charedim religious?! Will the non-charedi rabbanim who will be chosen not be religious?! The chief rabbinate was never designed for the charedim, it’s not their institution, and they had no business taking it over in the first place.
They deliberately lowered its credibility and prestige, by installing chief rabbis who were not big talmidei chachamim who would exercise their own Daat Torah, but rather were third-rank people who could be relied on to be subservient to the charedi “Daas Torah”. The chief rabbi is not supposed to follow “gedolim”, he is supposed to BE a gadol whom other people follow.
these two whatever….will only cause HASHEM to act….
The Israeils will just get the chief Rabbis they well deserve.
An impossible situation turned into an unfortunate one. Hope the religious Zionists are pleased. They got what thwy wished for or rather nextime be careful what u wish for.
The Zionist State in a sinking hole. How predictable.
No, not the status of the Rabbanut is diminishing, the status of the Prime Minister and other Ministers, who give up their Yiddishkeit and the Judaism of Klal Yisroel for the sake of their honor and money, has long diminished!
As it was, the “Chief Rabbi” of the Medinah was never more than the “Chief Rabbi of the Religious Zionists”, though it was usually someone respected by the Hareidim. Now it won’t be someone respected by either the Religious Zionists or the Hareidim. In the long run that is bad for the medinah, but good for the frum community since it will make the Religious Zionists into “liberal” Hareidim
For over a century the religious zionists kept saying, yes we are religious, but we are also zionists and entitled to the rights and privileges of being part of the zionist mainstream. They are now being told that while you may be zionists, you are also religious and nothing you do will with wash away the “taint” of being religious. Based on demographics, in the relatively near future, religious zionists combined with various flavors of hareidim will be a majority, and if the zionists continue to declare the religious zionists to be “beyond the fold”, they will wake to a government in which the religious zionists and the hareidim control a majority in the Kenesset.
A state that wants and probably claims to be secular and irreligious on the one hand will thrust itself in religious affairs and dictate on the other hand. This is as schizophrenic as their Aliyah process/rules appears to be. Maybe all of the people who mock their perception of a so-called “theocracy” really want their own version.
@Millhouse: Do you really expect an individual elected by Anti-religious Lapid to BE a Godel?!
Milhouse: The “Chief Rabbi” of the State of Israel is a political appointee, appointed and selected by a group that includes Arabs, Chilonim Mechalelei Shabbos, and the barely religious among others.
It has never been known to select a Godol Yisroel. If it ever did, it was coincidental. Especially the Ashkenazic one. Remember Shlomo Goren? He was a political hack who got that job by electioneering a promise for a particular outcome in a mamzer case if he won the job of “Chief Rabbi” (which he did). And he was denounced by worldwide Gedolei Yisroel.