Settler appointed IDF's chief rabbi
Defense minister approves chief of staff's recommendation to appoint rabbi from settlement of Itamar, who opposed calls to disobey evacuation orders during disengagement, as army's chief chaplain
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Monday approved the appointment of Colonel (res.) Avi Ronsky as the IDF's chief rabbi. Rabbi Ronsky will replace Brigadier-General Rabbi Israel Weiss in two weeks.
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz called Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and notified him that Ronsky was chosen for the job. According to the law, the chief of staff has to inform the rabbinical council about the appointment.
Metzger welcomed the appointment: “I wish the rabbi plenty of success from the bottom of my heart with the hope for productive cooperation as in the past between the Chief Rabbinate and the Military Rabbinate. I am sure that his rabbinical experience will give him an advantage for success in the important military post.”
Amona clashes (Photo: Reuters)
Rabbi Ronsky is considered “an active man.” In the past he served as the deputy commander of the Armor Corps, and recently served as head of the Hitzim yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Itamar. He wrote any books on the Halacha in the army and his edicts are respected by all yeshivas whose students serve in the army.
'Appointment aimed at satisfying settlers'
A senior official in the religious Zionist movement told Ynet after the appointment: “The chief of staff appointed someone from within the settler community. Rabbi Ronsky is considered mainstream among settlers. There is no doubt the appointment is meant to satisfy and to reunite following the splits that were caused by the disengagement and the Amona incidents.”
Ronsky, 54, who lives in Itamar, objected calls on soldiers by rabbis and settlers to disobey evacuation orders during the disengagement.
Upon resuming his new responsibility, Ronsky will have to take a number of decisions including whether to approve a proposal for mixed units.
The Peace Now movement said in response to the appointment that "the appointment of an extreme settler who lives in an illegal outpost, like Rabbi Ronsky, is a stinging insult to the rule of law."
"There is no room for a person with his views at the IDF elite," a movement official said.
Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report
