Funeral services will be held on the Mount of Olives tomorrow for the former Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel Isser Yehuda Unterman, who died at Shaare Zedek Hospital today at the age of 90. He had contracted pneumonia and succumbed to complications.
Rabbi Unterman served as Chief Rabbi from 1964-1972. Although regarded as a rabbi of “the old school,” he was held in high esteem and considered a moderate until the end of his tenure when he sided with local rabbis who banned the marriages of an Israeli brother and sister–the Langers–to their fiances on grounds that they were of illegitimate birth. According to halacha as interpreted by Israel’s Orthodox rabbinate. children allegedly born out of wedlock may-marry only other illegitimate or converts to Judaism.
The public outcry against the decision, which was viewed by most Israelis as a prime example of the rigidity of the Chief Rabbinate, led the government of Premier G
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