West Bank rabbi tapped as new Israel Police chaplain

Rabbi Rahamim Berachyahu was named Monday as the new chaplain of the Israel Police, after Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan accepted the recommendation of Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich.

Berachyahu is the chief rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Talmon, which was home to the Gil-ad Shaer, one of three Israeli teenagers kidnapped and killed by a Hamas cell in summer 2014.

The rabbi also heads religious programming at a Jerusalem study center called “Believing in the Police.” The center encourages men from the national religious community to join the police by running a special cadet program that combines police training with Torah studies.

Berachyahu, who was born in Jerusalem’s Bukharan Quarter, said he was much influenced by the loving way in which Sephardi rabbis from the neighborhood invited non-religious people into their homes on the Sabbath day of rest.

In 2014, asked whether a female singer could perform at a Tel Aviv event to support the release of the three kidnapped teens, all of whom came from religious families, he ruled that the singer could indeed perform so as not to give the impression that the event was only for religious people. He said, however, that images of the singer should not be broadcast on a giant screen during her performance.

According to a Ynet news report in July, Berachyahu wrote in his community bulletin two years ago that he while advocated “warm and humane” treatment of gays as individuals, he did not wish to see them living in the settlement.

“We cannot let live in our community those who are inconsistent with the law of nature and the values ​​of the Torah and halacha,” he wrote.

In a statement sent Monday to the media, Berachyahu said he was aware of the heavy responsibility now placed on him to serve the police force. He said his duties would include helping to formulate a “halachic doctrine” that would facilitate observant police officers serving in the force while maintaining a Jewish lifestyle. He said he prayed he would be able to fulfill his new role “with wisdom and sensitivity,” in a way that connected all facets of Israeli society.