Isaac Vardi Installed as Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Ono in Ceremonial Handover

Kiryat Ono held a formal and emotional ceremony on Sunday night to install Rabbi Isaac Vardi, 43, as the city’s chief rabbi. The event drew large crowds, senior rabbis, public figures, and residents, and followed an orderly selection process led by Rabbi Judge Yitzhak Elmalich. Vardi won broad backing from the electoral body, receiving 21 votes.

Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef delivered the main address, stressing the importance of appointing senior rabbis in Israeli cities. He said the past year had seen the election of city and community rabbis who are “talmidei chachamim” and “morei hora’ah” who go out to the public “to bring hearts closer.” Yosef said the appointments fulfill his father Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s vision and amount to “the return of the crown to its former glory.” He also praised Kiryat Ono’s longtime outgoing rabbi, Rabbi Ratzon Arutsi, for decades of steadfast guidance in Torah and Jewish law.

The ceremonial peak came when the Chief Rabbis of Israel placed a rabbinic coat, the “chaluk derabanan,” on Vardi and presented him with a new tallit, marking his official entry into the role. Vardi, who serves in recent years as a halachic instructor in city synagogues, studied at the Yeshiva Gedolah Baruch Yosef and holds certification as a city rabbi from the Chief Rabbinate. He is regarded as someone who can bridge different communities in the city.

The Religious Services Ministry welcomed the appointment as part of its policy of filling city rabbi posts permanently. Director-General Yehuda Avidan said the move would improve religious services and help Vardi bring Judaism “with a welcoming face” to all parts of Kiryat Ono. He thanked Elmalich, the committee members, and Mayor Michal Rosenstein for their cooperation. The ministry said similar appointments have recently been made in Ramat HaSharon and Nof HaGalil.