JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The chair of Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, has been occupied by illustrious rabbis, many of whom went on to become the Chief Rabbi of Israel. Rabbi Abraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook (rabbi of Jaffa and the settlements), Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Yitzhak Yedidya Frankel, Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, and Rabbi Shlomo Amar were all formerly rabbis in Tel Aviv.
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Eight years ago, the city’s legendary rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, left office, and since then the position has remained unfilled. Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai would likely have preferred the situation to continue, but the Ministry of Religious Services has initiated the appointment process after regulations were recently approved allowing the election of a city rabbi without the mayor’s consent.
In two weeks, members of the Tel Aviv religious council will convene to select the city’s next rabbi.
One of the leading contenders is Rabbi Zvadya Cohen, (brother of rabbi Zamir Cohen), the head of the Rabbinical Courts in Tel Aviv, who is expected to receive the backing of the Shas party. Rabbi Cohen is considered close to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and was previously mentioned as a possible candidate for Chief Rabbi of Israel, a move that ultimately did not materialize.
Rabbi Cohen studied in Sephardic Haredi institutions, including Porat Yosef Yeshiva and a kollel headed by the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. He was appointed as a rabbinical judge by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and later promoted with the support of Rabbi Yosef’s son, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef. In recent years, he has dealt extensively with complex cases involving the conversion of minors and sensitive divorce proceedings.
Another candidate is Rabbi Haim Amsalem, a former Knesset member from Shas who left the party due to ideological disagreements and went on to found the “Am Shalem” movement, which unsuccessfully ran for parliament. Amsalem previously ran for the position of Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and is now seeking the Tel Aviv post.
The Lau family, which has produced two generations of Chief Rabbis of Israel, is once again in the race, this time in Tel Aviv. The candidate is Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Lau, son of the city’s former chief rabbi.
Rabbi Lau studied at the Beit Midrash Binyan Av under former Chief Rabbi Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron and received rabbinic ordination from Israel’s Chief Rabbis. He serves as a community rabbi in Tel Aviv’s Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, heads a yeshiva, and in recent years has taught Judaism in a variety of settings, including to secular audiences, sometimes outside Tel Aviv. He is also involved with organizations providing medical assistance.
Other rabbis whose names have been raised include: Rabbi Aryeh Levin, Rabbi of North Tel Aviv, Rabbi Benzion Algazi, a Rosh Yeshiva the hesder yeshiva in Ramat Gan and an active IDF reservist, and Rabbi Avi Reznikov, Rabbi of Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv
The rabbi will be chosen by the electoral assembly, composed of: 31 city council members, 21 representatives appointed by the Minister of Religious Service and 11 public representatives.
The election committee is chaired by retired rabbinical judge Rabbi Yaakov Zamir, with committee members Rabbi Yitzhak Levy, attorney Rachel Dayan, Tal Tena’ami, and Yonit Gispen.
is it too late to submit my name for chief rabbi?
Why don’t all the Jewish residents of Tel-Aviv get a say in the matter A.K.A> casting a vote? As recently happened in Gateshead where all the Jewish residents of Gateshead got a say in the matter A.K.A. cast a vote for their new Chief Rabbi.