Rav Shimshon Klein has been appointed as the new rav of the air force’s Shachar program, replacing Rav Moshe Ravaad who stepped down shortly before completing his term in office. The rav will be raised to the rank of major. Rabbi Klein is a son-in-law to Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger.
Chareidi rabbonim commenting on the appointment question why a graduate of a hesder program is appointed as the mora d’asra of a program that is tailor made for chareidim, explaining while the rav is known as a person of integrity and potential, it simply does not make sense to appoint a dati leumi rav to oversee the needs and daily lives of a chareidi tzibur.
IDF officials are critical because the announcement speaks of the ‘haktara’ of the rav in a ceremony, explaining “in the IDF we do not have a ‘haktara’ but we have ‘appointments’.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Considering that the primary function of a “rabbi” in the Israeli army is to “protect” the soldiers from the hiloni leadership, appointing someone sympathethetic from a dati leumi background might be quite rational, especially in the uber-secular air force, since he’ll be a more effective protector.