In a stormy Tel Aviv town council meeting last night, it was decided by a large majority (17-4) that the city would have only one Chief Rabbi from now on. The council thus adopted the proposal of Mayor Ron Huldai, who said that having both a Sephardic and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi was unnecessary and wasteful. Many in the secular community welcomed the move, saying it would save the city about a million shekels a year in salaries and other costs. Tel Aviv has been without an Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi for eight years, and lacking a Sephardic Chief Rabbi for three.
Reactions in the religious public were mixed. The Shas party feels that different customs and rulings between the two ethnic groupings require two separate rabbis. Israel\'s Chief Rabbis Lau and Bakshi-Doron are in favor of the move, however, and the latter even said three years ago that he would be willing to resign to serve as a personal example. Rabbi Yaakov Meidan, author of a social manifesto outlining a way for the religious and secular to live together, discussed the decision with Arutz-7 today. He said,
\"It must be examined from several angles. On the one hand, the Sephardi-Ashkenazi distinctions are disappearing in many places - there are more and more mixed couples, mixed synagogues, many rabbis area consulted by members of both groups… On the other hand, in many cities, and in the country\'s Chief Rabbinate as well, the two chief rabbis divide the authorities between them. In a large city such as Tel Aviv, having only one rabbi will mean the provision of less religious services such as kashrut supervision… It could be that the neighborhood rabbis could take over these services, and in fact it could very well be that a different structure of religious councils could better serve the religious public. But in truth, I don\'t think that the city of Tel Aviv is trying to find ways to provide more funds to synagogues or other religious needs; I think this was merely an attempt to downgrade the city\'s religious services in general. It is very sad to see the state of religious affairs in the Tel Aviv of late, such as the recent decision to open restaurants on Tisha B\'Av and the gay pride parades. Many very fancy synagogues in Tel Aviv are now standing empty, and this is because many religious Jews no longer feel comfortable in Tel Aviv. Mayor Huldai\'s decision is another step in this direction, and maybe this was his goal.\"
Rabbi Chaim Ganz, head of the five-year-old Yeshiva Gvohah of Tel Aviv, says that he cannot argue that the religious public in the city is dwindling:
\"Precisely for this reason, we formed our yeshiva, which, thank G-d, is growing - we now have 70 students and 25 families in our community, and we aim to bring more... Our purpose is to create an opposite dynamic, one that will not only strengthen the existing religious community, but even more importantly, will give the secular public a channel by which to get to know Judaism. We would like to turn Tel Aviv into Settlement #1…\" To similar ends, two additional religious-Zionist yeshivot have been established in the city in the past year.
Reactions in the religious public were mixed. The Shas party feels that different customs and rulings between the two ethnic groupings require two separate rabbis. Israel\'s Chief Rabbis Lau and Bakshi-Doron are in favor of the move, however, and the latter even said three years ago that he would be willing to resign to serve as a personal example. Rabbi Yaakov Meidan, author of a social manifesto outlining a way for the religious and secular to live together, discussed the decision with Arutz-7 today. He said,
\"It must be examined from several angles. On the one hand, the Sephardi-Ashkenazi distinctions are disappearing in many places - there are more and more mixed couples, mixed synagogues, many rabbis area consulted by members of both groups… On the other hand, in many cities, and in the country\'s Chief Rabbinate as well, the two chief rabbis divide the authorities between them. In a large city such as Tel Aviv, having only one rabbi will mean the provision of less religious services such as kashrut supervision… It could be that the neighborhood rabbis could take over these services, and in fact it could very well be that a different structure of religious councils could better serve the religious public. But in truth, I don\'t think that the city of Tel Aviv is trying to find ways to provide more funds to synagogues or other religious needs; I think this was merely an attempt to downgrade the city\'s religious services in general. It is very sad to see the state of religious affairs in the Tel Aviv of late, such as the recent decision to open restaurants on Tisha B\'Av and the gay pride parades. Many very fancy synagogues in Tel Aviv are now standing empty, and this is because many religious Jews no longer feel comfortable in Tel Aviv. Mayor Huldai\'s decision is another step in this direction, and maybe this was his goal.\"
Rabbi Chaim Ganz, head of the five-year-old Yeshiva Gvohah of Tel Aviv, says that he cannot argue that the religious public in the city is dwindling:
\"Precisely for this reason, we formed our yeshiva, which, thank G-d, is growing - we now have 70 students and 25 families in our community, and we aim to bring more... Our purpose is to create an opposite dynamic, one that will not only strengthen the existing religious community, but even more importantly, will give the secular public a channel by which to get to know Judaism. We would like to turn Tel Aviv into Settlement #1…\" To similar ends, two additional religious-Zionist yeshivot have been established in the city in the past year.