Fierce Dissent Erupts Over Israel Chief Rabbi Post
Tough Fight: David Stav is running into fierce opposition in his campaign to become Israel?s Ashkenazi chief rabbi. Image by courtesy of david stav
Members of Habayit Hayehudi are split over who to support in the race for Chief Rabbinate, with party leader Naftali Bennett strongly in favor of Rabbi David Stav, a founder of the religious Zionist organization, Tzohar.
On Sunday Bennett denied reports about “deals of one sort or another with Shas or other parties” concerning the race for the Chief Rabbinate, which were apparently made without his agreement. Bennett’s statement was published close to midnight, a short time after Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, the rabbi of Ramat Gan, had already officially announced his candidacy for Ashkenazi chief rabbi.
Ariel’s candidacy was agreed upon yesterday at a special meeting which he attended along with five leading rabbis in the religious Zionist camp, who approved his candidacy for Ashkenazi chief rabbi, as part of a deal with Shas. The deal calls for supporting a bill that would enable incumbent Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar to serve an unprecedented second term.
The deal with Shas was presided over by two Habayit Hayehudi party members – Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel and Deputy Religious Services Minister Eli Ben Dahan.
The 150-member body that elects the two chief rabbis consists of rabbis, mayors, heads of religious councils, and appointees of the chief rabbis and of the minister of religious services.
For more, go to Haaretz
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
