Israel's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Will Return To Supreme Rabbinical Court

In the complicated religious politics in Israel, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger next month will end his voluntary suspension and return as a member of the country's Supreme Rabbinical Court and as a member of the committee that appoints religious court judges. Metzger is in line to become president of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in six weeks. Metzger had stepped down in the wake of charges that he improperly accepted free stays at a Jerusalem hotel. Haaretz today reports that the Justice Ministry's appointments committee approved Metzger's return, ignoring advice to the contrary from Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann.