Elections to select Israel’s Chief Rabbanim began on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Ramada Hotel in Jerusalem.

The vote is finally taking place three months after the terms of the previous Rabbanim ended, leaving Israel without Chief Rabbanim for the first time in history due to the overreach of the Supreme Court.

The Rabbanim are normally selected by an electoral body consisting of 150 members. However, following petitions to the Supreme Court demanding that the Chief Rabbanim appoint women to serve as Rabbanim, and the refusal of the Rabbanim to do so, the Court decided that 10 representatives of the Chief Rabbanim will not be appointed.

The electoral body now consists of 140 members, including 80 Rabbanim and 70 public figures (ministers, Knesset members, mayors, and heads of religious councils).

There are five candidates for the position of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi: HaRav Kalman Bar, the Rav of Netanyahu, who is supported by the UTJ party; HaRav Eliezer Igra; HaRav Moshe Chaim Lau; HaRav Meir Kahane, who was chosen by the Religious Zionist Rabbinical Council; and HaRav Micha HaLevi, the Rav of Petach Tikvah who  is supported by Religious Zionist chairman Betzalel Smotrich and Shas.

There are three candidates for the position of Sephardi Chief Rabbi: HaRav Dovid Yosef, who is supported by the Motetzet Chachmei HaTorah and Degel HaTorah; HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu, the Rav of Tzfas; and HaRav Michoel Amos, the acting head of the  Beis Din HaGadol.

The voting will close at 7:00 p.m. and shortly after 8:00 p.m., the election committee will announce Israel’s new Chief Rabbanim.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)