Elections for the Chief Rabbinate of Israel: The rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, who previously ran for the position of Rishon LeZion, may submit his candidacy for the position of Rishon LeZion.
According to a report today (Tuesday) on the 'Kippa' website, associates of the Safed rabbi have been holding rounds of meetings with senior rabbis and members of the electorate in recent days, in order to promote his candidacy for the position. His son, Amichai Eliyahu, serves as Minister of Heritage on behalf of the Otzma Yehudit party.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu is 67 years old, and unlike the other candidates for the position of Chief Rabbi, he served combat service in the IDF. This is the last opportunity he will be able to run for the position, as in the next round of elections he will have already crossed the maximum age to run.
The last time he ran, in 2013, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef won 68 votes compared to the 49 votes received by Rabbi Eliyahu.
One of the significant challenges facing Rabbi Eliyahu is the deal struck between the Religious Zionist Party and the Shas Party on the distribution of candidates. According to the deal, Religious Zionism will receive the position of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi and the Shas Party the position of Rishon LeZion.
If Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who is identified with religious Zionism, decides to run, the deal that was signed will stand the test and could jeopardize the candidacy of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was selected by the Rabbi Ariel Committee.
Rabbi Eliyahu's candidacy places the Religious Zionist Party in a significant public dilemma: Will they prefer to promote a Sephardic Haredi chief rabbi who did not serve in the IDF, over Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, a member of the ranks of Religious Zionism and one of its senior rabbis?
There is also a competition within the Shas movement for an agreed-upon candidate: the Gaon Rabbi David Yosef, son of the late Rabbi Yosef and a member of the Council of Torah Sages, against the Gaon Rabbi Yehuda Deri, chief rabbi of the city of Beersheba and brother of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu did not respond to Kippa.
A senior source close to Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu says that the rabbi has not yet decided whether he will run for the position of Chief Rabbi and that he will make the decision only after the electorate is announced.
If Rabbi Eliyahu does indeed run, his running will require Aryeh Deri to decide before the elections who the Shas candidate will be, in order to strengthen the 'deal' he made with Smotrich and not risk a double loss - both in the Ashkenazi and Spanish rabbis.
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