Bill Postpones Chief Rabbis’ Election

The Knesset in a preliminary vote today approved a bill postponing the elections to the Chief Rabbinate and the Chief Rabbinate Council for one year. They were to have been held next month. The measure was supported by Likud, the Labor Alignment and the National Religious Party but opposed by many other MKs. In explaining it, Yehuda Ben Meir of the NRP, said the Chief Rabbinate had not functioned properly in recent years and the election law needed amendments which would require more time to formulate.

The postponement was initiated by Religious Affairs Minister Aharon Abu-Hatzeira who obtained a nine-month postponement last year when the terms of the incumbent Chief Rabbis expired, also on grounds that more time was needed to prepare for the elections. Opponents of the delay, led by Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, charged that the measure was “undemocratic” because 140 of the 150 electors had already been chosen. They implied that the postponement was intended to salvage the re-election prospects of Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren who faces a strong challenge from Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli. Goren’s supporters contend that he already commands a majority of the electors.

The electors are reported to be evenly divided between the two contenders and the outcome was expected to hinge on the ten electors yet to be appointed by Abu-Hatzeira. Yosef has asked Premier Menachem Begin to make sure that all ten are not in the Goren camp. He said that of the 52 rabbis chosen as electors, 48 support Yisraeli.

Ben Meir was interrupted from the floor several times by opponents of the bill. Zalman Kahane of the Aguda Israel said the bill was “a disgrace to the Knesset” because it subjugated the Chief Rabbinate to a “certain party,” meaning the NRP. The bill must survive three more readings in the Knesset before it becomes law.