JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Religious Affairs minister Matan Kahane signed into law new regulations which will change the procedures for choosing local rabbis and will lead to many rabbis being deposed from their roles.
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Kahane changed the rules for local rabbis and for local council rabbis. The electoral committee will be broadened and all members of the local council will be part of the committee as opposed to the current system where synagogue representatives from different communities choose the chief rabbis. In this way a secular majority will determine who will be the chief rabbi of the city. The new regulations state that public representatives will also be part of the voting body, with half appointed by the local council leader and half by the minister, with a minimum of 40% women on the committee.
Moreover the local rabbis will serve for ten years as is the custom regarding national chief rabbis and their appointment can be extended by the city or local councils.
13 rabbis who were appointed prior to 1974 and received unrestricted appointments will be pensioned at the age of 80, meaning that the appointments of those over 80 will be terminated immediately and the others when they reach the age of 80.
Kahane also intends to immediately implement elections for local rabbis. Currently there are 35 cities without a rabbi and the minister will try and appoint as many rabbis as possible from Religious Zionist backgrounds while the government is in power.
The rabbis to be pensioned in the wake of the new regulations include Pardes Chana chief rabbi David Tzadka, Arad chief rabbi Yosef Albo, Kiryat Shmona chief rabbi Tzfanya Drori, Raanana chief rabbi Yitzchak Peretz, Rishon Letzion’s Rabbi Yehuda Wolpe, Rehovot chief rabbi Simcha Kook, Tzoren chief rabbi Moshe Mordechai Tobias, Migdal Ha’Emek chief rabbi Yitzchak Grossman, Kfar Yona chief rabbi Uzi Shwietza, Eilat chief rabbi Moshe Hadaya, Mazkeret Batya chief rabbi Efrayim Zalmanowitz and Ashdod chief rabbi Yosef Sheinin.
The government has a hand in selecting rabbis? That is crackers.
Who doesn’t know of Rabbi Yitzchak Grossman. Retire him? Sick.
This will of course lead to Reform and conservative “rabbis” taking over.
this is what a “religous” Zionists is doing? Can you imagine what the secular Zionists want to do? And yet YU and Young Israel synagogues pray for this?
We would be so much better off if a Charedi politician made religious affairs decisions since their inherent integrity is impeccable like Deri.
If the Chareidim had joined the coalition these things wouldn’t happen. They were too stubborn and cocky and pay the price.