By COLlive reporter
Please welcome the new Chief Rabbis of Israel.
A heated campaign that has been criticized unfitting came to an end Wednesday when Rabbi David Lau was voted Ashkenazi chief rabbi and Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef was voted Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel.
The two have been running as partners for the government position that both of their fathers have held – Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (1973–1983) and Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau (1993–2003) – helping them with win widespread support.
Both Rabbi David Lau and Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef garnered 68 votes out of 147 people eligible that came to the poll at the Leonardo Hotel in Jerusalem, among them rabbis, mayors and other public officials.
The religious Zionist candidates for the Ashkenazi post, Rabbi David Stav came in second with 54 votes and Merkaz Harav Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yaakov Shapira came in third with 25 votes.
In the Sephardic chief rabbi race, religious Zionist candidate Tzfas Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu got 49 votes and High Rabbinical Court Judge Zion Boaron came last with 28, although he was backed by outgoing Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refrained from endorsing a candidate, although he is considered close to Lau’s father, former Ashkenazi chief rabbi and current Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, VIN News reported.
This election might be the last race for the Chief Rabbinate in which both an Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbi will be elected: Bayit Yehudi and Hatnua both support a proposal by Likud MK Moshe Feiglin to elect only one chief rabbi when the term of the rabbis named on Wednesday ends in 10 years.
Bennett and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni of Hatnua sent a letter to the chief rabbi candidates on Tuesday stating their intention to merge the two chief rabbi positions.
According to the Bennett-Livni proposal, one rabbi will hold the chief rabbi position, while another will serve as the president of the High Rabbinical Court.
Livni and Bennett intend to implement their initiative in the term of the rabbis elected on Wednesday, their letter said.
Who did Hashem tell you to appoint? He didn’t say anything last time I spoke to him, so I’m gonna go with Moshe’s suggestion.
You said it.
HaShem said to appoint Yehoshua.
If i am not mistaken the Rebbe wasn’t happy with the elections. There are certain Halachos regarding electing a Rav and I think one of them is that it goes by Yerusha and a Rav stays a Rav as long as he lives.
Would you also complain that being Rebbe is nepotism?
This is a case of the apple not falling far from the tree, fathers who are talmidei chachamim, having children who are talmidei chachamim
No, its called best person for the job Hashem puts you where you need to be. According to your logic The Friedecher Rebbe became a Rebbe became a Rebbe because of nepotism.
Who cares either way.
It’s all a bunch of photo ops and couruption
May we never hear from Stav again
B”H
1) it was an election
2) It shulchan Aruch (among many earlier poskim) it states that if a child is worthy then he is first to stand in his fathers place. This is G-ds Torah
or maybe it’s called “skepticism.”
Mr Ietzer Haro has a big campaign against emunah and in in this dark exile I am going crazy with confusion, please send Moschiach, I know is a lie that Western Civilizations teaches that in life is all about connections in business, religion, is a real struggle power, I want to be simple and believe you run all 100% Hasgacha Protis and hurts me to the core Rabbis covering up Kashrus issues, sexual abuse, violence abuse besides that we can’t get along , send Moschiach ENOUGH ENOUGH of this
it happens to be halacha .
halacha says rabanus goes over with inheritance…
You must be joking. This was voted for. Its a political appointment. It happens to make alot of sense for someone in the public eye to be awrded the position. Who do you think should get it? Some talmid chochom whose been sitting for 10 years in kollel in bnei brak? And regarding heredity: Rabbanus has always been so. There is even a legally enforceable right to pass on the rabbanus of a city to a deserving son or son-in-law. You may not have noticed but chassidic rebbes? hello?
BOTH are sons of former chief rabbis? So now chief rabbanus is hereditary? It’s called nepotism.
this is an office that if not for chabad they would be cheeking lettuce for telaim
Mazal tov! mazal tov!
why there was not a Chabad Rabbi candidate?