Despite the ultra-Orthodox stranglehold on the chief rabbinate, religious pluralism in Israel is growing—and shifting the balance of power.

In the early 1990s, in exchange for their support of the Oslo agreement, the Labor party gave control over religious institutions to the ultra-Orthodox. Now. . .

The election of David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef as Israel’s next chief rabbis represents a political victory for the ultra-Orthodox—and also for the prime minister.

As long as Israel’s chief rabbis act as bureaucrats rather than ambassadors, Judaism will remain inaccessible and meaningless to many Israelis.

The machinations surrounding the upcoming election of Israel’s next chief rabbis show that the ultra-Orthodox are not the only religious group causing problems for the state.