Israel Hayom | In the race for chief rabbi job, pesky laws get in the way

Apparently there is some opposition to changing the law regarding the age and term limits for the Chief Rabbi position. The move to change the law is motivated by the desire of some MKs to have Rav Yaakov Ariel serve as the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi although he is over the age of 70 and to have Rav Shlomo Amar to serve a second term as Sephardi Chief Rabbi.

I also oppose the change. The original law prevents anyone over the age of 70 from running for the position of Chief Rabbi and limits him to one term. To change the law to allow a certain candidate to serve in the position strikes me as uncivilized. Mayor Bloomberg did it and dictators do it all the time.

That being said, I don't remember the Knesset members raising such a fuss when they they passed a similar law to allow Justice Grunis to become the President of the Supreme Court.

Chief Rabbi Amar Bans Debt Settlement Haircuts - Globes

I just saw this small article from Globes:

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar yesterday issued an unprecedented Halakhic ruling against debt settlements involving sharp discounts (haircuts) by the controlling shareholders and executives of financial institutions. At a press conference with the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Rabbi Amar said that controlling shareholders should bear the costs of heavy losses. The Halakhic ruling also bans cross-ownership.

Rabbi Amar's ruling states that executives and controlling shareholders of large companies should take responsibility for the financial losses caused to the public, and that controlling shareholders and money managers cannot evade this responsibility even if they were negligent and without bad faith.

Rabbi Amar also banned investment in institutions owned by them, or in affiliated institutions; i.e. he banned cross ownership.

For more articles on Business and Halacha regarding bankruptcy and corporate structures see these:

• "Bankruptcy: A Halakhic Perspective"
  Rabbi Yitzchok A. Breitowitz
• "Bankruptcy - A Viable Halachic Option?"
  Steven H. Resnicoff
• "A Jewish Law Perspective on the Propriety of Discharging Personal Debts"
  Prof. Steven H. Resnicoff
• "Jewish Law and Modern Business Structures: The Corporate Paradigm"
  Michael J. Broyde & Steven H. Resnicoff
• http://www.businesshalacha.com/hotline-articles/limited-liability