Rav Elyakim Levanon
Rav Elyakim LevanonFile photo

 

Rav Elyakim Levanon, the Rabbi of Elon Moreh, will be appointed Chief Rabbi of the Samaria local authority Tuesday night. The ceremony will take place at Shaarei Tikva.
 
The ceremony was supposed to take place two weeks ago but was postponed because of the massacre of the Fogel family at Itamar. 
 
 
Rav Yehoshua Shmidt, rabbi of Shavei Shomron and a member of the Samaria Rabbis' Secretariat, told Arutz Sheva: "After the terrible slaughter at Itamar, we decided to postpone the ceremony. Rabbi Levanon felt that the public would not understand the move of going from a funeral to a 'coronation' [as the ceremony is called - ed.], although we thought that those attending the ceremony would understand."
 
Rav Shmidt said that the coronation will be attended by great rabbis, including Rav Dov Lior and Rav Shmuel Eliyahu. The ceremony, he said, "will give a clear statement to the citizens of Israel as to how the rabbinical establishment should be run. It can serve as an example for how a rabbi and a local authority can cooperate harmoniously."