In 1888, he was appointed a member of the Beth Din of Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar in Jerusalem, serving in this position until 1899.

He worked to bring the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities together, and established an association called Hitachadut composed of Sephardim and Ashkenazim.

Following Elyashar's death in 1906, he was picked to succeed him as the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, but his appointment was vetoed by his opponents, supported by the Hakham Bashi in Constantinople, because of his Zionist affiliations.

He was subsequently inducted as Hakham Bashi of Palestine but six months later, he was deposed by the Sultan of Turkey, and Eliyahu Moshe Panigel took charge of overseeing the Orthodox community.

Meir was elected as Sephardi chief rabbi of Palestine, and took the position, assuming the title of "Rishon le-Zion".

He was also awarded the French Legion of Honor, and received decorations from the sultan of Turkey and the Greek government, as well as Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz.