The selection committee of the Chief Rabbinate Conference, which is charged with finding a candidate to succeed British Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie, who retired last year, decided last night to approach Dr. Immanuel Jako-bovits, spiritual leader of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York, to find out whether he would be prepared to let his name be presented to the Chief Rabbinate Conference.
Dr. Jakobovits, who is a former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, will be contacted officially by representatives of the selection committee within the next few days. During private, exploratory talks with Sir Isaac Wolfson and other leaders of British Jewry, Dr. Jakobovits was reportedly indefinite about his decision on the matter. If the New York rabbi accepts the offer, his name will be put forward by the selection committee to the Chief Rabbinate Conference.
The decision to offer the Chief Rabbinate to Dr. Jakobovits was adopted at last night’s meeting of the selection committee with 31 of its 36 members present after the five representatives of the Federation of Synagogues decided to boycott the meeting. The voting members included representatives of the United Synagogue, the largest of Britain’s synagogue bodies.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
