It appears that Jerusalem City Hall has decided to accept the position of the legal advisor of the Ministry of Religious Services and delay the election for new chief rabbis in Yerushalayim.
 
The dispute surround the fact that the committee which will vote contains 19 chareidi representatives and 5 dati leumi, while Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and members of the dati leumi community insist the representation, based on shuls and population realities, is simply not what it should be since the dati leumi, traditional, and secular communities in the capital represent about two-thirds of the population.
 
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Hadari called on the ministry to delay the elections and make the necessary changes in the committee, threatening if the ministry does not act, he will take his case to the High Court of Justice. Mayor Barkat has also demanded that the committee reflect a true representation of the city’s population and the current reality is simply unacceptable.
 
At present, it appears no date is set for the long overdue election.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)