Ultra-Orthodox candidates win terms as Israel’s chief rabbis
JERUSALEM -- Candidates backed by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community won a hotly contested election Monday to decide who will serve as the nation’s next chief rabbis.
Rabbi David Lau of Modiin will serve as chief rabbi for the Ashkenazi community and Rabbi Yizthak Yosef, son of prominent Israeli Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, will represent Sephardic Jews. In keeping with custom, each will represent the two main communities of Judaism in Israel.
The 10-year term puts each man at the helm of a vast system of state-run religious institutions, responsible for thousands of appointments and jobs.
It also gives them considerable legal authority over Jewish citizens in matters of marriage, divorce, women’s rights, conversion, certification of kosher food and restaurants and deciding who is considered a Jew in Israel.
The ultra-Orthodox faced a stiff challenge this year from a faction of modern Orthodox Zionists, who launched vigorous campaign to install their own leaders in the posts.
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