An Open Letter to The Jerusalem Post

'Rabbi Frank was Not Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem'

January 11, 2012

Dear Jerusalem Post,

I take notice with your story of January 10, 2012, “Surprise! Haagen-Dazs [is] not kosher,” in which Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank was called a "chief rabbi" of Jerusalem. This is a bit confusing, and demands clarification for the sake of proper history.

Rabbi Tzvi Frank was not an official chief rabbi of Jerusalem. From the Ottoman period through the British occupation of Jerusalem, the position of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (and the greater Holy Land) was elected by the Hahambashi, the Grand Rabbi in Istanbul.

The man who held the post in Palestine before the development of the office of the chief rabbinate was Rabbi Ya’akov Meir; he was one of the last Spanish rabbis of Jerusalem (Spanish Sephardic rabbis were the official leaders of Jerusalem and the Holy Land for 300 years), and was the only rabbi to officially represent all the Jews in the Holy Land. To be clear, over a decade before the development of the office of the chief rabbinate in Palestine or the arrival of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook from Europe to Palestine, the only official chief rabbi of Jerusalem was Rabbi Ya’akov Meir—for all Jews.

Further, when the office of the chief rabbinate was still under development, it was decided that the Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Haredi communities would each elect a “chief rabbi,” —but the Haredi community shunned the formal development of the rabbinate and politically and emotionally marginalized themselves (as they continue to do today), this is the reason why there is no “chief rabbi” of the Haredim.

Once the official office of the chief rabbinate was established, Rabbi Meir went on to represent the Sephardim, while Rabbi Kook represented the Ashkenazim. Together, in unison, they exemplified leadership, courage and rationality—traits which were respected and cherished.

Shelomo Alfassa
NYC