A day after the furor erupted over the Ministry for Religious Services' decision to terminate the Chief Rabbi of the Ethiopian community, Rabbi Yosef Hadane explains why he will not insist on keeping his position.
"I don't need the position to keep working. It's just that the work is very complicated," he told Army Radio on Tuesday morning.
Rabbi Hadane says that he felt personally affected by the issue of discrimination against the Ethiopians trying to register for marriage in Petah Tikvah, which Army Radio described as the reason for his resignation. "I strongly objected to sending them from city to city for no reason. It truly enraged me, so I did what I had to."
On Monday, Army Radio stated that Rabbi Hadane, the Chief Rabbi for the Ethiopian community in Israel, will be removed from his position. According to the report, Rabbi Hadane's conduct in response to the marriage issue did not please the Ministry for Religious Services' leadership.
The Ministry claims that Rabbi Hadane's standing is different from that of regular chief rabbis because, while he is a recognized rabbi, his actual job position is not in fact as a rabbi. Instead, he is merely an employee of the Ministry.