In this post, Hiddush offers a post-elections analysis regarding the Chief Rabbinate race. With the election of Rabbis David Lau and Yitzchak Yosef, both ultra-Orthodox rabbis and sons of former Chief Rabbis, the ultra-Orthodox establishment enjoyed a clear victory. Though the Knesset elections in January kept them out of the current government coalition, they were able to use their upper hand in the religious establishment and garner enough political support to defeat the Modern Orthodox candidates. The winning candidates even enjoyed Prime Minister Netanyahu's support, not because of ideology or theology, but thanks to his strategic calculations for long-term political stability. The elections indicate one continuous trend: These new Chief Rabbis will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and promote coercive and irrelevant policies for conversion, marriage, and many other critical areas of influence. The election results undoubtedly reinforce the dire need to bring an end to this damaging and anachronistic institution.
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