The Dayan, Rabbi Shapira, appointed 10 rabbis to the electorate: and why are they all Ashkenazi?

July 11, 2024   

 Against the backdrop of the High Court's order to appoint women 'rabbis' to the electoral body: Member of the Grand Beit Din, Rabbi Shlomo Shapira, appointed, by virtue of his position, 10 rabbis to the body that elects the Chief Rabbis of Israel. Do you have a social worker certificate? This is why you should fill out this form According to a Channel 7 report, Rabbi Shapira appointed the members by virtue of his position as a veteran dayan - after the acting president of the Grand Rabbinical Court, the Gaon Rabbi Eliezer Igra, as well as the candidate who was supposed to be appointed after him, the Gaon Rabbi Michael Amos, a member of the Grand Rabbinical Court, announced that they intend to run for the position of Chief Rabbi. These are the ten rabbis whose names were proposed by Rabbi Shapira: President of the Kerem Yeshiva in Yavne, Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, Rabbi of the settlement of Neriah and rabbi of the 'Mercaz HaRav' yeshiva, Rabbi Michael Hershkowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Ma'alot and chairman of the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva Center, Rabbi Yehoshua Weizmann and Rosh Yeshiva of Shaalavim, Rabbi Michael Yamer, Rabbi of the city of Ma'ale Adumim, Rabbi Yehoshua Katz, Rabbi of Samaria and Rosh Yeshiva of Alon Moreh, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, retired Av Beit Din of Ashkelon, Rabbi David Levanon, rabbi of the 'Mercaz HaRav' yeshiva and former rabbi of the A-B-G neighborhoods in Bnei Brak. Yehoshua Magnes, Rosh Yeshiva of the Golan Rabbi Yoel Manovich, Rabbi of the Golan Rabbis Rabbi Shlomo Shapira also explained why he chose only ten Ashkenazi rabbis, without any Sephardic ones: "I would like to point out that I chose only Ashkenazi rabbis after the chairman of the election committee for chief rabbis, the Dayan Rabbi Shmuel Hazan, informed me that for the sake of balance within the total of 150 members of the electing assembly, I am asked to appoint only Ashkenazis." According to the law, the president of the Great Rabbinical Court has the right to appoint 5 members of the electing body, and therefore, by virtue of his position, Rabbi Shapira was supposed to appoint only 5. However, the eminent Rabbi Yaakov Roja, acting president of the Chief Rabbinate Council, who was supposed to appoint 5 rabbis to the electing body, resigned from his position due to his refusal to consider appointing female 'rabbis' to the assembly that elects the chief rabbis, as was unanimously decided by the Rabbinate Council - and it is not clear whether Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, the rabbi of Kiryat Ono and a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, who is supposed to be appointed after him, will take the position for the same reason.