One of the main reasons for Shas's decision to remain in Ehud Olmert's government, according to Haaretz, is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's wish to see his son, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, appointed as Jerusalem's Head Rabbi. According to the newspaper, Rabbi Ovadia, who is Shas's spiritual mentor, wants Minister of Religious Services Yitzchak Cohen to arrange for Rabbi Yitzchak to become the Holy City's Sephardic rabbi.
Jerusalem has had no Sephardic rabbi since the death of Rabbi Shalom Mashash in 2003. One reason for this is that the city's religious council, which normally participates in the appointment of the chief rabbi, has stopped functioning.
Sources close to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's family said that the rabbi regularly requests updates on the progress in appointing his son to the job, and has brought up the subject in personal conversations with the prime minister more than once. New regulations have been drafted in order to give Minister Cohen more power in the appointment of Jerusalem's rabbi, but the regulations have yet to be ratified and have been met by legal challenges from MK Uri Ariel and City Councilman Nir Barkat.