Rabbi David Lau, the chief rabbi of Modiin, was named Israel's chief Ashkenazi rabbi on Wednesday evening, alongside Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who was named the chief Sephardi rabbi. The two's election to head the Chief Rabbinate concluded one of the most tumultuous campaigns seen in Israel in decades.
Both of Israel's new chief rabbis are the sons for former chief rabbis: Lau's father, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, served as the chief Ashkenazi rabbi between 1993 and 2003, and Yosef's father, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, served as the chief Sephardi rabbi between 1973 and 1983.
The 150 electors responsible for choosing Israel's chief rabbis gave Lau, 47, and Yosef, 61, the same number of votes -- 68. The new chief rabbis were elected for a 10-year term.
Lau's main rival in the race, the national-religious camp's candidate Rabbi David Stav, received 54 votes; while Yosef's strongest rival, Safed's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, received 49.
Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, who was vying for the position of chief Ashkenazi rabbi, received 25 votes, while Rabbi Tzion Boaron, endorsed by outgoing Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, received 28.
The vote, which was held at the Leonardo Hotel in Jerusalem, began at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and concluded at 7 p.m., to allow the committee heading the elections to count the ballots. The announcement of Lau and Yosef's nomination was made at 8 p.m.
"This is a joyous occasion of course, but there is also a sense of great responsibility," Lau told Israel Hayom shortly after he was named the new chief rabbi. "I was sitting by Father when the results came in. He hugged me and told me that I have a heavy burden to carry. I pray that I will be everyone's rabbi and that the Chief Rabbinate will be everyone's rabbinate."
Yosef, who was greeted by Shas leaders and hundreds of the party's supporters at Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's home following the announcement, echoed Lau's sentiment.
"I thank God that I have been blessed to sit on the same chair as my father," Yosef said. "It is no secret that the Chief Rabbinate has been facing tumultuous times and I plan to do everything within my power to rehabilitate its status as the supreme religious establishment for all the people of Israel. I vow to be everyone's chief rabbi and I will do everything I can to bring the entire public closer to the Torah. I will welcome any Jewish man or woman and I will follow in the footsteps of the sages of Spain, who brought the people closer to the ways of the Torah."
Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri added that "the new chief rabbis will try to restore the Chief Rabbinate's status. Rabbi Yitzhak will lead Israel. This was the kind of vote you couldn't possibly wish for -- both rabbis received 68 votes. In gematria [the traditional Jewish system of assigning numerical values to words and phrases] 68 means 'wise.'"
'We must remain united'
Sources in Stav and Eliyahu's campaigns said the two were naturally disappointed by the elections' results.
Stav's associates offered their congratulation to both Lau and Yosef. A statement by the Tzohar Modern Orthodox rabbinic organization, which Stav heads, said that the organization "pledges to the public and the national-religious parties to continue to be a Jewish defensive wall against the trends of separatism, radicalization and corruption. It is God's will that we will not lead the revolution from within the system, but our faith is strong and we will continue to present Judaism to the public with love so that, heaven forbid, there will be no rift among the people. We must remain united.
"God willing, as we changed the agenda for this campaign for all the candidates -- shifting focus to the need to bridge the gaps between the seculars and the religious publics -- we will be able to influence the rabbinical establishment on the burning issues of Judaism: kashrut, shmita (the agricultural sabbatical year), determining an individual's Jewish identity, conversions and marriage."
In an interview with Army Radio on Thursday, Stav said, "We understand that the people of Israel and the State of Israel are deeply disappointed. But I personally am going to the morning Shaharit prayer service with hope in my heart. I believe that what happened yesterday is that a group of [haredi] political operators, who are disconnected from Israeli society and the state of Israel, managed to prevail over the spirit of the people in Israel."
Deputy Religious Services Minister Eli Ben-Dahan (Habayit Hayehudi) said that the party was "disappointed that we were unable to see a member of the national-religious public elected as chief rabbi. We spared no effort but unfortunately, we failed. I can only hope that the secular public does not turn its back on the Chief Rabbinate. They must understand that the institution is far more important than those heading it."
Eliyahu's associates said that the vote represented the "difference of opinions among the electors."
A source at the rabbi's campaign added that "we had a good feeling right up until the [ballots'] count. We have to wonder how much weight the attorney-general's interference carried with the voters," referring to Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein recommendation last week to disqualify Eliyahu's candidacy from the race over anti-Arab comments he had made in the past.
Eliyahu decided to disregard Weinstein's recommendation, saying he was determined to see the race through. His decision prompted Meretz to file a High Court of Justice petition seeking to have him officially disqualified from the race, but a three-judge panel, headed by Chief Justice Asher Grunis, denied the petition, saying, "Since the petition was filed merely two days before the elections, the court finds it has insufficient time to debate the issue."
The court stressed that the ruling "does not express the court's opinion regarding Eliyahu's candidacy in any way. ... Should the petitioners see fit, they may present the case before the court again in the future."
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