Rabbi Judan Leib Maimon, Israel’s first Minister of Religious Affairs, accepted today membership on the four-man panel which will serve as a nominations committee for the election of a new Chief Rabbi which has been deadlocked in a political dispute since February.
The panel was named by Rabbi Yaacov Toledano, Minister of Religious Affairs. Four other members have already been named by the Chief Rabbinate. The appointments are scheduled to be approved by the Israel Cabinet to pave the way for the elections.
The issue was touched off by the death of the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Halevi Herzog. A struggle developed between Rabbi Toledano, acting on behalf of the Government, and the Israel Rabbinate, over new qualifications for the Chief Rabbi proposed by Rabbi Toledano. The acceptance by Rabbi Maimon, founder and grand old man of the Religious Zionist movement, was received with widespread satisfaction.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
