By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Mendy Nachshon, a Chabad rosh yeshiva and resident of Nof HaGalil in northern Israel, has been elected as the city’s chief rabbi following a formal vote by the municipal electoral body.
The election committee, chaired by retired dayan Yaakov Zamir, announced the results after the conclusion of voting, confirming that Rabbi Nachshon secured 29 votes on Tuesday.
Nof HaGalil—formerly known as Nazareth Illit—has a population of approximately 45,000 residents. Established in 1957, the city developed into a center for Jewish life in the region, particularly following a large influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Rabbi Nachshon currently serves as head of the local Chabad yeshiva and has been active in the city’s religious life for years. He holds official certification to serve as a city rabbi from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and studied at Tomchei Temimim yeshivos in Migdal HaEmek and New York.
His candidacy had emerged as the leading option in recent weeks, reportedly drawing support from a wide cross-section of the city, including Chabad, chareidi, and religious Zionist communities. Local officials and community figures described a broad consensus that formed around his nomination ahead of the vote.
He succeeds the outgoing chief rabbi, Rabbi Yeshayahu Herzel, a Lubavitcher chossid whose tenure in the city spanned decades. Rabbi Herzel’s son, Rabbi Mendy Hertzel, also ran for the position.
Rabbi Nachshon is the son of Rabbi Dovid Nachshon, Chairman of Chabad’s Mitzvah Tanks in Israel and is the son-in-law of Rabbi Yitzchok Ginsburg of Kfar Chabad.
Public figures also issued congratulations, highlighting Rabbi Nachshon’s years of service and his expected role in providing accessible and responsive religious leadership to the city’s diverse population.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded: “I congratulate Rabbi Mendy Nachshon on his election as chief rabbi of Nof HaGalil. Rabbi Nachshon was chosen as the Religious Zionist candidate in cooperation with all the rabbis and communities in the city.
“He is the son of Rabbi Dovid Nachshon, one of the senior Chabad rabbis who advocate for the integrity of the land, the Torah, and the Jewish people. He serves as head of Chabad yeshivos and concurrently as a military rabbi who has completed hundreds of days of reserve duty. He received broad, cross-sector support from the city’s rabbinic leadership, and I have no doubt he will work to strengthen Jewish life in Nof HaGalil.”
