At the end of a dramatic election process: Rabbi Zebediah Cohen was elected this evening (Sunday) to serve as Chief Rabbi of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Rabbi Cohen, who serves as the head of the city's rabbinical courts, was elected by a majority vote out of 15 candidates who ran for the prestigious position.
Rabbi Cohen won with a majority of 37 out of 61 votes. The main competitor, Rabbi Chaim Amsalem, won 21 votes. Rabbi Aryeh Levin, rabbi of the northern part of the city, received only 3 votes. 12 candidates did not receive even a single vote.
Three of the 64 members of the electorate were absent.
The election of Rabbi Zebediah Cohen ends an eight-year period without a permanent rabbi for the city, since the retirement of Rabbi Israel Meir Lau in 2018. With his election, the rabbi will automatically join as a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council.
The election committee was headed by retired member of the Grand Court of Justice, Rabbi Yaakov Zamir. The other committee members were: Rabbi Yitzhak Levy, Rabbi of Nesher, Attorney Rachel Dayan, Tal Tanami, Yonit Gispan, the Legal Bureau of the Ministry of Religious Services. The committee secretary was Zuriel Porat.
Rabbi Zebadiah Cohen is considered one of the most prominent halachic arbiters in Israel in the fields of family law, genealogy, and conversion.
He is a graduate of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva and a distinguished student of Chacham Shalom Cohen zt"l. He studied at the Levit Chen kollel under the presidency of Maran Gra"a Yosef zt"l and at the Yachva Da'at kollel under the leadership of Rishon LeZion Gra"d Yosef.
In 2016, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, and in recent years he has even served as a judge in the Grand Din.
The elected rabbi of Tel Aviv said in a speech after his election: "I am very excited after 18 years in Tel Aviv. For the past 18 years, I have been responsible for all matters of marriage, divorce, and all the difficult problems of agunot in Israel and abroad. All these years, I have acted in the way of Maran the Gracious Yosef. Even in my new role, which also includes kashrut, mikvahs, and eruvin, we will be able to follow in the way of Maran the Gracious in a light-hearted way. We have done everything until now quietly and without headlines.".
Former Minister of Religious Services, MK Michael Malchieli: "At the end of a complex election campaign during which various elements attempted to agitate against the election of a rabbi for the city of Tel Aviv, the eminent Rabbi Zebadiah Cohen was elected to the important position. The election results show that this is the desire of the majority of the city's residents who desire tradition and Judaism.".
Director General of the Ministry of Religious Services, Yehuda Avidan: "We congratulate the completion. Thanks to a professional and orderly process that began with the outgoing minister, MK Michael Malchieli, we have today been granted strong spiritual leadership for the city of Tel Aviv. I would like to thank Mayor Ron Huldai for his cooperation in holding the election process. Rabbi Zebadiah Cohen is a symbol of Halacha and enlightenment, and I am confident that he will connect all residents of the city to the world of Torah and bring about an explanatory and cohesive Judaism. This is a significant step towards strengthening the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.".
The chairman of the Tel Aviv Religious Council, Eldad Mizrahi, congratulated the elected rabbi: "A city rabbi and a dayan of the highest order have been chosen for the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. A learned scholar who has lived among the Tel Aviv public for many years. He knows how to connect and accommodate people with bright faces and a moderate and close halakhic line. He continues the glorious tradition of the rabbinate that existed in this city.""
