The race in Jerusalem: Chief Rabbi Amar has filed his candidacy • Shas: No comment

October 6, 2014   

Former Chief Rabbi, Harosh Amar, is running for the position of Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the city of Jerusalem: This morning (Monday), the Chief Rabbi officially submitted his candidacy for the position, and he will run in elections expected to be held on the 27th of Tishrei, if the High Court does not accept the petitions filed by the United Torah Judaism faction - and postpones the election date. An official statement issued by his office stated: "The Chief Rabbi Rabbi Moshe Shlomo Amar has decided to respond to the request of the rabbis, dayanim, yeshivot heads from all circles, and the city's benefactors, and to submit his candidacy for Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. "The Rabbi sees a sacred duty in raising the rabbinate's horn in the Holy City and the Temple. After many years in which no Chief Rabbis served, and out of a sense of heavy responsibility, he decided to take on the task of continuing to work even harder to bring hearts closer and spread the message of peace in ways of kindness to every Jew according to the Jewish tradition handed down to us from generation to generation. "The Rabbi will work with all his might to increase unity and peace between all circles and communities in Jerusalem and to unite the ranks of faithful Sephardic Jewry." Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, arrived at the home of the Chief Rabbi this morning and received the candidacy form from him. The chances of Rabbi Amar - who enjoys the support of Minister of Religious Services Naftali Bennett and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat - to win the position are good, as the two control the electorate. Rabbi Amar's decision was accepted, although not all of his associates and family members believe that this is the right move. So far, the candidates for the position of Sephardic Rabbi of Jerusalem are Rabbi Mordechai Toledano, son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef, and former MK from Shas, Rabbi Chaim Amsalem. In recent months, rumors have spread that Rabbi Amar intends to run for the position, but these rumors, as well as rumors of a 'deal' with religious Zionism, have been repeatedly denied by the Rabbi's office and his associates. At this stage, it is still unclear whether Rabbi Amar will receive the support of the Shas party in his candidacy. In response to a question from Haredim10, a spokesperson for the Shas movement responded: "We are not commenting for now." The one who played his cards right is the rabbi of the city of Beersheba, Rabbi Yehuda Deri, who initially planned to run for the position, but now it seems that he will shelve his intention. However, one question still remains open: will the rabbi of the Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi David Yosef, run for the position on behalf of the Shas movement? For now, the rabbi is hesitating, as it is clear that if he decides to enter the fray, he will have the support of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri. This is also the reason why Shas is not responding, for now, to the decision of the rabbi Amar. As for Barkat, an interesting phenomenon is occurring: even though Aryeh Deri and Shas supported Moshe Leon as a candidate for mayor of Jerusalem, Barkat managed to overcome her anger and align herself with Shas, to the point of acting for common interests. Shas representatives in the municipality cheer for the successful mayor, and he, for his part, remains loyal to them. "He will only support those whom Aria supports," one of his associates told me. This part of 'a word is a word' has nothing to do with Barkat, so don't suspect him of saying one thing and doing another. He's not the man. And this is also known by those close to Har"sh Amar, who are looking with concern at the future of Har"d Yosef - whether he will run or not. And what about Shas' support for Har"sh Amar's candidacy, if Har"d Yosef does not run? Well, despite peace talks that took place between the parties, the memorial rally at the Arena stadium arrived and proved that peace is still far away. Har"sh Amar's exclusion from the event, even though this time even Rabbis Moshe and Avraham Yosef were invited, constitutes a red line. Deri does want peace, but it turns out that the one casting a veto is actually the Chief Rabbi Yosef. It is possible that the rabbi will now receive Shas' support, but a status quo of cold peace will prevail between the parties.