I have often admired the present Chief Rabbi for his brilliant speeches and his stimulating articles in the press, both Jewish and non-Jewish. However, any religious leader should be careful not to stray from his or her area of expertise which is in matters of faith. My late father taught me not to mix religion with politics, as the two are mutually incompatible. Sadly this has not been observed, especially in Israel where successive governments have come to rely on the support of various religious parties in the Knesset to obtain a majority under the proportional representation system in Israel. This has meant that state and religion have become inter-twined in Israel with some unforeseen and often unsatisfactory outcomes. The present row about municipal Rabbis in Israel following the Rabbi in Zfat by proclaiming that Jews should not rent their properties to Arabs, which is plainly racist.
Coming back to the Chief Rabbi appointment which will be made to succeed Lord Sacks in about three years, I have read in the Jewish News that a committee will try to define the future role of the Chief Rabbi. They should define the remit not to stray in to matters of the Jewish and non-Jewish world which are outside the parameters of the Jewish faith. By the way this should equally apply to e.g. the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Primate of Ireland etc. My point is that having qualified from a seminary or yeshiva in our case, does not equip an individual to pontificate (even if he is the Pope) on anything and everything. It is as facile as myself making remarks about Jewish observance.