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State & Religion

JPW Knesset Update

What We Saw Last Week, and What We Can Expect This Week in the Knesset

Dear Friends!

Another week packed with state-religion issues has passed. The Minister for Religious Services continued to push for changes in religious services and released for public comment a draft proposal of regulations concerning the appointment of city rabbis and rabbinical court advocates; the Subcommittee for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities discussed the accessibility of religious services; the Caucus for Strengthening and Preserving Jewish Identity in Israel was launched in the plenum; and a bill seeking to ratchet up sanctions against get-refusers (men who refuse to grant their wives a divorce) was raised in the plenum. MK Bezalel Smotritch's arrival in England to meet with Jewish community rabbis, stirred up a storm and sparked a spate of reactions. The financial daily Globes reported that 22% of couples in Israel married outside the Rabbinate in 2019.

Emily Levy-Shochat

 Chair, Jewish Pluralism Watch

 

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IN THE PLENUM

On Wednesday, the Rabbinical Courts Bill (Upholding rulings on divorce) (Amendment – restricting use of credit cards for those who refuse to grant a divorce) submitted by MK Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism) was raised in the Knesset plenum. In his presentation of the bill, MK Maklev said: "Even today there are still people who refuse to grant a get, they enchain their wives, causing them great difficulty and distress. We are working with the courts to do our utmost to prevent a woman from suffering and to release her from the chains of her marriage. Because at the time the use of credit cards was not widespread, the issue was not included in the law. If the husband has a credit card, then he is under no financial restrictions and there is no sanction that will truly prompt him to grant the get."

IN THE KNESSET COMMITTEES

On Tuesday, the Subcommittee for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities convened to discuss the accessibility of religious buildings, religious services and the holy places. This committee is a subcommittee of the Labor and Social Welfare Committee and promotes equal rights for individuals with disabilities.

MK Shirly Pinto Kadosh (Yemina) opened the debate: "The area of religious services is not only the concern of the religious and ultra-Orthodox public; there are segments of the population from all sectors who may either require religious services or who may wish to maintain a connection and visit the Jewish holy places. There are more than 130 Jewish holy sites in Israel and tens of thousands of synagogues. Despite their obligation to ensure accessibility, only a tiny fraction of these are even partially accessible."

Chair of the Subcommittee Mk Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu (Yesh Atid) added: "As Voltaire said: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ I am not a religious person; I am completely secular. But I will fight to my last breath to ensure that every religious person will have the right to fulfill the dictates of their conscience and be able to perform every last one of their religious practices."

The Minister for Religious Services Matan Kahana (Yemina) who was invited to participate, said: "On this issue there is no coalition and there is no opposition. We have to unite around the issue of the accessibility of the holy places so that anyone who wishes to pray, can do so: be they religious, conservative or secular, anyone who so desires must be able to enjoy these services."

 Left to Right: MK Yorai Lahav Hertzanu, MK Shirly Pinto

REGULATIONS IN RELIGIOUS SERVICES

On Monday, the Minister for Religious Services Matan Kahana (Yemina) posted for public comment a draft of regulations for the Jewish Religious Services Law (electing city rabbis), as part of the policy he is pursuing. The draft proposes to streamline the election procedures which at the moment are lengthy and complicated and hamper the appointment of suitable city rabbis. The draft proposes a change in the constitution of the Electoral Assembly, so as to increase public representation and representation of women. In addition, a time limitation will be imposed on the city rabbi's term of office.

On Wednesday, the Minister for Religious Services Matan Kahana (Yemina) also posted for public comment a draft of regulations for the appointment of rabbinical court advocates formulated in collaboration with the Rabbinical Courts Administration. These regulations deal with the examinations that rabbinical court advocates who represent members of the public in the rabbinical courts, are required to take. The regulations seek to grant an exemption from practical examination; to refresh the disciplinary regulations for the candidates; and to determine the process of appeal that a candidate is entitled to submit in matters of discipline and ethics.

 

Minister Matan Kahana

CAUCUSES

Monday saw the launching of the Caucus for the Strengthening and Preservation of Jewish Identity in Israel headed by MK Avi Maoz (Religious Zionism).

The Caucus Chair MK Avi Maoz opened the discussion: "Strengthening and preserving the country's Jewish identity means that we have to oppose conversion reforms, kashrut reforms; they want to introduce civil marriage and public transport on Shabbat. We will fight them on these issues. Strengthening and maintaining Israel's Jewish identity means preserving the sanctity and indivisibility of the Western Wall."

Leader of the Opposition MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) added: "We need to ask, why are we not in Sweden or somewhere else? We are connected to this land, to our faith, our religion and our nation that are umbilically tied to this country, our homeland. Without these roots we will be like leaves in the wind and this is indeed what we were and for that we paid a very high price."

MK Amichai Chikli (Yemina) commented: "One of the more serious errors is to create an overlap between Jewish identity and religious identity. Today, for large sections of the general public, Jewish identity is seen to be of concern to the religious only, and if Jewish identity is a religious matter, then why should I care about it. I am Israeli. And then the question arises if it is at all relevant? And then there is no need for a Jewish state."

Left to right: MK Miki Zohar (Likud), MK Bezalel Smotritch (Religious Zionism); MK Avi Maoz (Religious Zionism); MK Ofir Sofer (Religious Zionism); MK Katy Shitrit (Likud)

IN THE MEDIA

On Wednesday, MK Bezalel Smotritch (Religious Zionism) landed in the UK to meet with rabbis, community leaders and Jewish organizations. His visit sparked an outcry when the Board of Deputies of British Jews, a long-established umbrella organization uniting most of Britain's Jewish communities, tweeted on its official twitter account: "We call on all members of the British Jewish community to show him the door. Get back on the plane, Bezalel, and live in disgrace forever. You are not wanted here.”

In an interview with ynet Studios, Michael Weiger, CEO of the Jewish Board of Deputies, elaborated: I don't think it's necessary to repeat his statements against Arabs, against the LGBTQ community and against Reform Jews. As an organization, we have the utmost respect for 99% of Israel's lawmakers. There is one person who in our eyes is intolerable, and it was precisely this person who visited England."

Knesset members and ministers also offered their comments about the furor created by the tweets and responses that were published. The Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai (Labor) tweeted: "There is nothing for Smotrich in Britain. The community has made its position clear. Racism has no place anywhere. Come home.”

Minister of Communications Yoaz Hendel (New Hope) condemned the Board of Deputy's reaction: "This is not the appropriate way to welcome an Israeli MK who comes to meet with various Jewish communities. Even when there are disagreements, there is a way of expressing them. Those who want to influence Israeli politics should be in Israel."

On Thursday, Globes published an article following on the interview in which MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv said: "Every year, a fifth of the weddings in Israel are performed by our rabbis or in the Reform style." According to the article, a 2019 report from the Ministry of Religious Services confirms that between the years 2016 and 2018 a drop was recorded in the number of couples marrying in the Rabbinate. It also points out that "there is a rise in the number of marriages that are performed by the Conservative and Reform movements", but does not supply precise figures. It also mentions that according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2019 a total of 9,550 couples who married abroad were recorded in the Population Registry, and approximately 22% of couples did not marry in the Rabbinate.

On the top: The Chief Rabbinate

Term of the Week

Rabbinical court advocate – the profession of rabbinical court advocate is similar to that of a lawyer in the general legal system. The role of the rabbinical court advocate is to represent one of the sides in the divorce proceedings before the rabbinical court. We have to remember that the only way to legally marry or divorce in Israel is in accordance with religious law – that is, via the Chief Rabbinate.

Some divorce issues can be settled in Family Court which is a civil and secular court. However, receiving a get and changing the records in the Ministry of the Interior (and being eligible for the relevant rights from the state) can only be achieved in the Chief Rabbinate. Thus, the rabbinical court advocate has an important role in divorce proceedings.

Until the beginning of the 1990s only men engaged in the profession of rabbinical court advocate. At the beginning of the 2000s the law was amended to enable women to join the ranks of the profession as well. This was achieved without the intervention of the High Court of Justice, unlike other campaigns that have been waged over women's status in religious services. It is worth noting that the entry of rabbinical court advocates into the rabbinical courts has brought about a change in the attitude to agunot (women whose husbands refuse to grant them a get). This is part of the process that the rabbinical establishment is undergoing in its treatment of women and of the matter of get-refusal.

 

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