Bulgaria’s Chief Rabbi Asher Hannanel was nominated here today as Sephardic Chief Rabbi for Tel Aviv. At the request of a number of local petitioners, his name was listed among the candidates for the post by the special election committee preparing the naming of Tel Aviv’s Chief Rabbi. Dr. Hannanel was recently sentenced to prison by a Bulgarian court, but was released on bail and allowed to live at his home in Sofia for reasons of health. There have been requests from many Israelis here that Bulgaria allow him to emigrate to Israel.
The Sephardic Chief Rabbi’s post here has been vacant since 1958, when the late Chief Rabbi Yaacov Toledano resigned the seat to become Israel’s Minister for Religious Affairs, The election committee listing candidates for the post now consists of 10 representatives of the Municipality of Tel Aviv and an equal number of Israelis representing the Religious Council here.
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