In a petition to the High Court of Justice submitted by council members and residents of the city of Ramla, it was claimed that the election process for the rabbi of the city of Ramla - which is expected to take place on June 11, 2025 - should not be advanced.
Following the petition, the High Court of Justice ruled that Minister of Religious Services Michael Malchieli and the Elections Committee must respond within 6 days to the request to halt the election process for the rabbi of the city of Ramla.
The petition claims that the assembly that elects the city mayor does not meet the requirements of the law, and therefore the election process should not be held until the matter is corrected.
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According to the regulations, public representatives who are members of the electoral assembly must provide representation to the various "entities, sectors, and communities" living in the city.
As detailed in the petition, "The 20 public representatives elected to the assembly do not represent the various and diverse communities living in the city, as there are central communities such as religious Zionism, as well as Ethiopian immigrants in particular and immigrants in general, who did not receive representation - even though they constitute a large group of the city's residents and have religious needs and principled positions regarding the role of the city's rabbi.".
According to the petitioners, many of the public representatives have political and personal ties to council members, which turns them from "public representatives" into "envoys" of vested interests. The petitioners further argued that the public representatives should be approved according to a "factional key" and not rely on a simple majority.
Attorney Aryeh Toito, a veteran public activist in the city and a former council member who submitted the petition, said: "The city rabbi is one of the most important and influential figures in the city, especially in a city like Ramla. Only a rabbi who is committed to the entire public will be able to perform his duties faithfully. Therefore, his election process must be free from any blemish. It is impossible for the public representatives who should represent the diverse residents of the city to be political representatives of people who are eager to promote one specific rabbi. And you would be free from God and from Israel.".
Yoel Lavie, a member of the Ramla City Council for the past two decades and who served as mayor: "The honor of the Torah is hanging in the balance! The electorate and its commitment to choosing a specific candidate is a disgrace to our Torah, which only this week we were able to celebrate the holiday of the giving of the Torah!""
