Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Yosef was crowned on Wednesday as Rishon Lezion, in a ceremony attended by the Shas party's Council of Torah Sages and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The title of Rishon Lezion is given to all Sephardic Chief Rabbis, a position that harkens back to the 17th century.
The traditional gown was put on Rabbi Yosef by Shas Council of Torah Sages members Rabbi Avraham Salim, Rabbi Shmuel Bezalel, and Rabbi Reuven Elbaz.
The traditional turban was placed on the Chief Rabbi's head by council member Rabbi Shlomo Ben-Shimon, and Rabbi David's brothers Rabbi Avraham and Rabbi Moshe Yosef.
The ceremony took place in the Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem.
President Herzog stated at the ceremony: "During these difficult times when our brothers and sisters are still being held captive by the cruel enemy - in terrible pain, while entire communities are uprooted from their homes, when hundreds of thousands of our sons and daughters are still valiantly fighting, and most importantly when it seems that the Israeli society is being torn from within, the job of the Rishon Letzion gets a deeper meaning."