Just as America has generations of leading families such as Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush, Clinton ... Judaism has had generations of leading rabbinical families. I hope Chief Rabbis Lau and Yosef will restore the Crown of Torah and bring together the people of Israel.

The one can't be every ones Chief nor can the other make the Torah lovable. Neither do work with their hands for a living. They both look at Am Yisrael as different sects and groups of a fragmented society . Neither have proven their love for Am Yisrael outside their groups. Yoseph is handicapped by his father soiling his hands with politics. The election smells of being rigged by politics. If only a Rav Kook calibre Rav would emerge, we would not need two , and we'd be better served.

Rabbi Yitzhakl Yosef has not maintained the traditions of the Sephardic community, he can't even dress like a Sephardi.

They do not represent the Jewish people

.....I am in greater need of a Gynecologist than a Chief Rabbi

Not mine thank you, "everybody" can take them and keep them together with their skullduggery and cheap machinations.

More of the same old, same old... And 10 more years of dirty politics. VERY SAD DAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL

Sephardi means that the person is descended from Spanish Jews. This "fine so-called Sephardi" is descended from an Iraqi Jew. And if you know your geography then you know: 1. Iraqi Jews are Mizrachi not Sephardi 2. Iraq is definitely closer to Poland than it is to Sepharad (Spain) But mostly we should either have just one Chief Rabbi or like the USA none at all! Because what we have here is a case of "Same old, Same old."

a family run business

We hope you will continue in your tradition of inclusivity that you have established in our city.

By that I presume you mean all the young teenagers who go to the beach on Shabbat in bikinis, all the young couples who go to Cyprus etc. every year to get married, all the bus drivers and taxi owners who perform a necessary service on Shabbat and of course all those who don't eat kosher food. Are all these included ?

Bashar Assad, Kim Jong Un, The Emirates, all the Arab world. Tell me it's not the same.

These people are haredim and they definitely don't care about ordinary normal people. The only care about the ultra-orthodox layabouts who contribute nothing to Israeli society.

The Rabbinate in Israel shares the same nepotism that goes on in Israeli politics. Many Israeli politician's relatives were either politicians themselves or high ups in the Defense sector. Relatives of politicians who don't go into politics are often well placed at the highest managerial positions within government owned businesses.

3 is decidedly right . . Libush chukat goim is far from hidur. and shameful. . Obadiah Yossef was swayed by Litvaks , now his son is moving even further from tradition. Iraq, is home to the Gaonim and their academies

I am from the US, where there is no such thing as a chief rabbi. What is happening in Israel reminds me of Catholicism - a hierarchy of bishops, archbishops and cardinals - all supposedly acting in the "best" interest of their constituents, while feathering their own nests admirably. Sounds like a combination of religion and politics to me - strange bedfellows in most places, but evidently normal in Israel. Someone fill me in, please.

These people care very much about the ordinary people. Without our tax money, who would finance their schools, Yeshivot, and charities.

It is indeed a sad day for the Jewish people. The 2 elected Chief Rabbis will maintain the status quo for another 10 years... . It isn't hard to imagine the dirty politics behind the election, with Weinstein putting his 2 cents against R. Eliahu and disgusto Oldmerde pushing for R. Lau. If changes are not forthcoming we will see the seculars distancing themselves more and more from the Rabbanut and the potential sincere converts languishing for years due to the laziness and lack of empathy on the part of the Orthodox .establishment. Ha Shem yrajem!

Does anyone have an arrogance meter? Michael

You're right, the US doesn't have the same kind of system as Israel however, depending on where you're from in the US, being a rabbi can mean BIG bucks. When I was living in Cleveland almost 10 years ago, a local conservative rabbi was earning a salary of more than $250K a year. They are often on a board of a school or non-profit which pulls in additional money. This is small change compared with rabbis from NYC, LA or the DC area. In many European countries, a 'Church tax' supports many social programs as well as the salaries of clergy. Ask your local pastor who pays his salary and who pays for the construction of new churches?

Basically meaning that we've had Mizrachi rabbis sold to us as Sephardi Rabbis for years and years. So what's the big deal with having Mizrachi rabbis repackaged as Ashkenazim? I guess the Mizrachim STILL have a mega-chip on their shoulders and instead of being themselves need to be someone else. BTW don't judge lest you be judged. I will give you a pass this time and won't comment on your level of knowledge or lack thereof. But I next time I surely will. I surely will.

You sound doped to me repeating you surely will. Half ignorant Jews in Spain and Morocco, thought they knew as much as the Gaonim. Stopped paying the levy and destroyed the Jewish continuity

It is any woman who cannot end her marriage halachicly due to any circumstances, which also include: inconclusive info on the death of her husband, inability to locate the husband, mental illness on the part of the husband, mental illness of brother-in-law in the case of a childless widow, and many others. These are all agunah issues which, especially in the past few centuries, Torah Greats have devoted superb efforts in study and innovation to find solutions, often custom-tailored for each unique incident.

less than 50-50 chance of inheriting the "good genes", which in any event is only potential, versus picking for merit, where you know the person is capable. meritocracy is always better.

I still don't get it. Why hereditary positions? You don't explain that part. In Norway, the clergy are civil servants earning a modest salary. No school board or non-profit extra income. I don't think that any churches have been built here in years. Church attendance is around 5%. Religion has been marginalized, a good thing. That means that people think for themselves.

...sure makes a lot of sense. In terms of liturgy there are Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews. The Iraqi Jews fall in the Sephardic category. Get with the program.

Once he takes over as Sephardi Chief Rabbi he will no doubt wear the same type of outfit as his father, an outfit dating back to the Ottoman Empire. In the Diaspora most leading Sephardi Rabbonim wear the same black suits and white shirts as their Ashknazic counterparts -- the same as many Protestant ministers!.