Mayor holds trilateral meeting in search of Jerusalem chief rabbis

An unusual meeting took place this week at Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's home. Barkat met with Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri and national religious Rabbi Haim Drukman in another attempt to find a solution to one of the most pressing issues to the Orthodox public: designating Jerusalem's next chief rabbis.

The Jerusalem Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbi positions are highly regarded public offices, almost as important as Israel's chief rabbi post. Both seats in Jerusalem have remained empty for nearly a decade. Occasionally, attempts have been made to bridge the gaps between various religious streams in order to choose the next rabbis, but such efforts failed. Trying to appease different sides, Barkat vowed in municipal elections last October that he would designate one ultra-Orthodox rabbi and one national religious rabbi.

During their meeting, Barkat and Drukman floated the possibility of tapping former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar to be the next ultra-Orthodox chief rabbi of Jerusalem. Amar is an acceptable candidate for the national religious group as well. According to sources dealing with the issue, Amar is interested in the position, but given his disconnect with the Shas leadership, party members find it difficult "to bring him into consideration."

Additionally, Deri was interested in nominating Rabbi David Yosef for the position. Yosef is one of late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's sons, and a close friend of Deri's. The Shas leader was also inclined to tap Rabbi Yehuda Deri, the chief rabbi of Beersheba and also Deri's brother. According to Shas officials, the Council of Torah Sages will have the final say in the party's nomination.

There are different voices among the national religious camp as well. If they nominate an Ashkenazi rabbi, it will likely be Rabbi Aryeh Stern. Should the choice be Sephardi, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu will probably top the list.

Meanwhile, analysts have posited that these efforts are also destined for failure because the proposals do not include an Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox rabbi. United Torah Judaism, which has substantial sway in Jerusalem, is expected to stymie the efforts.