Yisrael Beiteinu MK David Rotem has said that following the upcoming general election he will work towards the goal of having a national-religious rabbi appointed to the post of Chief Rabbi during the next Knesset session.
In a wide ranging interview with The Jerusalem Post last week, the outspoken MK also said that he opposes state recognition of non-Orthodox rabbis, marriages and conversions in Israel, and that the party remains in favor of a “population for land” settlement with the Palestinians, where Israel would gain sovereignty over settlement blocks while Arab towns in Israel close to the Green Line would be exchanged in return.
He also emphasized his party’s Jewish-nationalism credentials and its support for “traditional” Jewish practice, but said that it was opposed to what he termed “religious politics,” which he accused ultra-Orthodox parties of indulging in, instead of religion.
Responding to his comments on non-Orthodox denominations, MK Nitzan Horowtiz of Meretz denounced the “dark opinions” of Rotem, and accused him and his party of having “betrayed its voters in favor of an Orthodox monopoly.”