Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem

The position of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem was instituted centuries ago and was originally held by a member of the Sephardic community. Moses Galante served as Rishon LeZion, the title used from beginning of the 17th century to refer to the chief rabbi of Jerusalem. In 1878, the Ashkenazi community appointed their own representative. Since then, Jerusalem has had two chief rabbis, each representing their respective communities. In the second decade of the twentieth century the zionist and anti-zionist factions each appointed rival candidates to the position, which coalesced into the state-sponsored Chief Rabbinate on the one hand, and the Chief Rabinates of the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Edahs HaChareidis on the other. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the function of the state-...