Yosef and Lau Win Chief Rabbinate Election In Israel

According to reports by the Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel, the sons of two former chief rabbis were elected to ten year terms as the new Sephardi and Ashkenazi chief rabbis of Israel today.  Yitzhak Yosef, son of Shas party leader Ovadia Yosef, was chosen as the next Sephardi chief rabbi, beating out, among others,  Shmuel Eliyahu who had been criticized for allegedly racist statements.  David Lau, son of Yisrael Meir Lau, was elected Ashkenazi chief rabbi, dashing the hopes of those who backed David Stav, a moderate who represented the religious Zionist movement. (Background.) In the bitterly-fought election that originally involved 10 candidates, both Yosef and Lau received 68 of the 147 ballots actually cast. (See prior related posting.)