The Minister of Religions, Matan Kahana, announced this morning (Wednesday) that the former Deputy Minister, Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, will be appointed chairman of the Jerusalem Religious Council. Stern, and now the appointment has received the blessing of the two.
A statement issued by the minister said that he had asked Rabbi Ben Dahan for his consent to serve in the position, and after being answered in the affirmative, Kahana consulted with the mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon, with Rabbi Stern and with Rabbi Amar. "Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan is a man of many verbs, with rich experience in the public service in general and in the mechanisms of religious services in particular," said the Minister of Religions, "and I am sure he will bring excellent religious services to the residents of the Israeli capital." Rabbi Ben Dahan noted that "with the blessing of Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar and Rabbi Aryeh Stern, to take on the mission."
But the appointment met with surprising opposition from the person who, according to the religious minister, consulted himself - Mayor Moshe Leon, who turns out to be a staunch opponent of the appointment.
Leon has a sharp conversation with Minister Kahana, and the municipality clarified that the appointment was made without his consent.
A senior municipal official told Israel Today that Kahana is engaged in unprecedented bullying. It is impossible to appoint a chairman of a religious council, most of whose budget comes from the municipality, without coordination with the mayor.
"The mayor is interested in appointing a professional properly, with a suitable record for the position, and I very much hope that this will be the case."
"Interested in appointing a professional properly."
Leon, Photo: Gideon Markovich
On the other hand, Hagit Moshe, chairman of the Jewish Home Party and deputy mayor of Jerusalem, congratulated the appointment and said that "Rabbi Dahan, a member of the Jewish Home, is a professional and experienced person who served as deputy minister of religions and understands the city's complexity and uniqueness.
I am sure that he will be able to address all the populations in the city and maintain its religious and very special character. "
Both conservative and liberal organizations welcomed the appointment of the former deputy minister to the post of chairman of the Jerusalem Religious Council, which has suffered for many years from irregularities that even surfaced in the State Comptroller's report.
The organization "Kashrut" stated that the appointment of Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, a person who knows the system from the inside, is a welcome appointment and the right decision of Minister Kahana. "In a matter-of-fact way. This is also our practical proposal in the face of the perforated and failed reforms that the Knesset recently underwent. Unfortunately, its move did not materialize, but this is an opportunity to mention that it is the practical alternative to the Chief Rabbinate's training system.
The Torah and Avodah Trustees movement said: "Rabbi Ben Dahan is a public servant who has been involved in public needs for years in the faith, and works honestly for religious services in Israel. The Torah and Avodah Trustees In light of Yishai's dismissal in recent months, this is a particularly important appointment and we hope that Rabbi Ben Dahan will raise the fund of the Religious Council in Jerusalem and bring the public transparent, clean and committed to religious services. We will be happy to cooperate with Rabbi Ben Dahan later ".
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