Knesset Votes To Postpone Chief Rabbinate Elections Amid Power Struggle

Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks at a swearing-in ceremony for the Rabbinate Council at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, in 2018. The elections for the country's Chief Rabbinate, have been postponed until next spring. YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90.

JERUSALEM — The Knesset voted overnight Monday to postpone the elections for the country’s Chief Rabbinate, extending the tenure of the serving rabbis until next spring. The elections were originally scheduled for August.

The delay comes amid a tense race for the 10-year positions, and reports of back-room wheeling and dealing by Shas Party chairman Aryeh Deri to pave the way for his brother to receive the Sephardic Chief Rabbi position.