Some politicians have called out a hit against the expected candidacy of Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, for Chief Rabbi of Israel. They have turned to the Attorney General in the hope to disqualify Rav Eliyahu, and it seems that the Attorney General won't disappoint. The Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has already spoken out against Rav Eliyahu's candidacy, and has announced that he will conduct a hearing with Rav Eliyahu on the matter of his statements in the past against renting houses to Arabs.

Such a hearing would likely be the death knell in his candidacy.

The problem with that is, according to a lawyer I spoke to and according to the letter below sent to the Attorney General by the Organization for Goverance and Democracy, the Attorney General has no jurisdiction over the matter. his job is on legal issues - not disqualifying candidates. As well, Rav Eliyahu was never tried and convicted for his statements -  a case was opened and then closed with no charges. So, if charges were never brought, on what basis can Mr. Weinstein disqualify Rav Eliyahu?

These politicians can speak out against Rav Eliyahu as much as they want. they can implore voters to not vote for him. But to disqualify him? on what basis? By what right?

I don't know if he would make a good Chief Rabbi or not. I think it is wrong to take away his right to run as a candidate. Let the voters in the electoral body have their say and decide what they think. Some politicians are overstepping their bounds because they have some power and are deciding on things they have no jurisdiction over. That is called bad government.