New battle: The conflict between the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and the Chief Rabbis, the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, and the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, is escalating.
The campaign this time is for the position of Director General of the Chief Rabbinate.
Last week, the directors of the chief rabbis' bureaus - Yitzhak Elharrar and Rafael Frank - sent a letter to the Civil Service Commissioner, in which they accuse the heads of the Ministry of Religious Services of "political interference that also spills over into the sphere of the Chief Rabbinate.".
The rabbis' letter comes after Ben Dahan made it clear to the chief rabbis that the current director general, Oded Wiener, will end his position as planned, and his replacement will be the director general of the Ministry of Religious Services, Elchanan Glatt.
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The letter to the commissioner, signed by the heads of the rabbinical chambers, states: "The very fact that the chief rabbis are not allowed to be partners in selecting a professional person to head the Chief Rabbinate's organization speaks volumes." The directors of the chambers state that "this constitutes a gross violation of the status of the rabbis.".
The Ministry of Religious Services responded: "We will continue to work to appoint a worthy person who will march with us in improving religious services for every citizen.".
Last week, the chief rabbis bypassed Bennett and Ben Dahan, and sent a letter to the prime minister in which they requested that the position of director general of the rabbinate be made a position of trust - so that they could appoint someone of their own choosing to the position.
