Jerusalem – On Sunday, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a bill striking numerous limitations on the terms served by municipal rabbis.
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Israel Hayom (http://bit.ly/IoRyG7) reports that the bill, offered by MK Hatnuh Elazar Stern, requires cities to have just one chief rabbi. Rabbis’ terms in office would be restricted to 10 years. The bill also strives to see women comprise 40 percent of municipal committees to guarantee women are properly represented.
A comparable bill proposed by Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Eli Ben-Dahan , Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Religious Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett intends to apply the change nationally, stating that states should have one chief rabbi instead of having a chief Ashkenazi rabbi and a chief Sephardi rabbi, which is the current arrangement.
The committee also approved a bill promoted by Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah, which bans the sale of religious paraphernalia in cemeteries without a permit from the Religious Services Ministry.
Finally they are working on a Decent bill!
I seem to remember that not too long ago there was only one Chief Rabbi at a time and they rotated every few years between the two.
this is divisive and arrogant – better to privatize this increasingly irrelevant organization
A maneuver similar to this is what prompted Shas to come to power in the very first place.
And make Jews all one?
After that we can work on having just one Satmar Rebbe.
Whether this is the right thing or not …it’s amazing how Bennett and Yesh Atid are so obsessed with anything religious, so far, they have done anything and everything to reduce anything that is related to religion.
Hmm how come if they are so concerned, was there ever a bill introduced the other way around, something that will benefit religion…
In any case, reducing it to one will certainly not help anyone, you might as well dissolve the very Rabinut… There is a reason why there are two in the first place; Sephardim have a diff mesorah in P’sak as Ashkenazim, it’s not a matter harmony…
Anyways, go explain that, when matters of these are in the hands of paid corrupted politicians. Rather, the whole Rabinut political system should be reconstructed. instead, it is only becoming more of a politicized position by the day.