Israel's Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi and President of the Chief Rabbinate Council, Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber, has sent a detailed letter to the Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges, retired Judge Asher Kula, following his decision regarding remarks made by Sephardic Chief Rabbi and President of the Great Rabbinical Court, Rabbi David Yosef.
In his letter, Rabbi Ber came to the defense of his colleague, arguing that Rabbi Yosef's comments did not constitute a departure from his official role, but rather represented the faithful fulfillment of the public and historic mission entrusted to Israel's Chief Rabbinate.
The Chief Rabbi stressed that defending the public status of Shabbat is not merely the right of Israel's Chief Rabbi but a fundamental obligation arising from his responsibility to preserve the Jewish character of the State of Israel.
According to Rabbi Ber, the Chief Rabbinate has, throughout its history, consistently stood guard over the sanctity of Shabbat in the public sphere, and every Chief Rabbi since the institution's establishment has acted in the same manner.
Rabbi Ber further wrote that the case in question did not concern a private matter, but rather a judicial decision issued by judges acting in their official capacity. As such, he argued, it carries broad public significance relating to the character of the State of Israel.
Under these circumstances, the Chief Rabbi wrote, Rabbi David Yosef's public response was a direct fulfillment of his public responsibility and mission as Israel's Chief Rabbi.
To support his position, Rabbi Ber reviewed a long series of historical sources and letters written by Israel's Chief Rabbis over the generations.
Among the examples he cited were the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, followed by those of former Chief Rabbis Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, and Isser Yehuda Unterman, all of whom, he noted, consistently emphasized the uncompromising duty of the Chief Rabbinate to safeguard the sanctity of Shabbat in the public sphere.