Israel on verge of creating one chief rabbi role

Political opposition to the make-up of the chief rabbinate intensified last year following the election of Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef, both sons of former chief rabbis. Neither of the two had been dayanim (rabbinical judges) and only one has any experience as a rabbi of a large city. Their election was seen by many as an exercise in nepotism by the Charedi politicians.

Both rabbis came under fire earlier this month after they passed a ruling forbidding religious women from serving in the army. Several politicians, including Finance Minister Yair Lapid, called for their resignation.

Under the current arrangement, the two chief rabbis serve in rotation as the presidents of the Rabbinate Council and of the Supreme Beth Din (the Rabbinical Court). Under the new law, the Beth Din will devolve from the Chief Rabbinate and become a fully autonomous judicial body operating along similar lines to the Supreme Court.

The new law, once passed, will only become relevant in 2023, towards the end of the ten-year term of the current chiefs. By that time, a coalition with a significant Charedi presence could change the law back again.