Nowadays this has changed. Nowadays you have to have emunas askanei chachomim, or maybe emunas dovrei chachomim.
Rav Amar, the [Sefardi] Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim, has been critical of the deal giving the Reform and WoW a location along the Wall for their egalitarian prayer. He, among others, has been critical of the Haredi MKs who have quietly let the deal go through.
Today in an interview Rav Amar said "what is being said in the name of the gedolim [about the deal surrounding the Kotel areas] must be checked, and I don't want to expand on that".
He did not question the gedolim.. Rav Amar questioned the people who are, supposedly, quoting the gedolim. Did people with an agenda portray the picture properly to the gedolim to get a true answer and clear direction, or did they misconstrue the information in order to get a specific answer? Did they relate the response from the gedolim in an accurate and precise manner, or did they tell the public more or less what the gedolim said, fudging on the clarity? Too bad Rav Amar does not expand on this.
I think if Rav Amar had heard from the gedolim their position, and he questioned them, that might be a problem, but I do not think questioning the askanim around the gedolim is really much cause for derision.
I would like to believe that someone in the position of a Rav Amar could go directly to the source and clarify what the situation is, and even present his own opinions and understanding for consideration. I know the political aspect surrounding Rav Amar and why he is now considered persona non grata among some of the gedolim, and perhaps that is why he was not able to confer directly with them on this issue.
Anyways, as mentioned, Rav Amar questioned the people quoting the gedolim. That drew the ire of Motka Bloi, one of the top Degel askanim. Rav Bloi called Rav Amar Reform, with a troubled history.
So Rav Amar is now Reform because he does not have enough emunas askanei chachomim. Considering how they fought him in the past and basically tarred and feathered him, I am not surprised he has no faith in them.
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