 On riots, baby starving, and ways of Torah
Of Judaism, and of Torah, we are told "all of its ways are ways of pleasantness." For the past three weeks we have seen something very different on the streets of Israel's capital, Jerusalem. Tires have been set on fire, trash bins have been set alight, and riots have broken out among the fervently Orthodox. What brought on this trouble that has resulted in both property damage and physical damage? On the face of it, there were two separate events. Desperately Seeking a Chief Rabbi
Help Wanted: The City of Jerusalem seeks two Chief Rabbis Qualifications for one: male, Zionist, "able to embrace all elements of Jerusalem's diverse populace and connect the entire Jewish people to Jerusalem, including secular Israelis who love Jerusalem and who serve in the army," according to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Qualifications for the second: male, clothed in black, non-Zionist, intolerant, won't eat food under the hashgacha [supervision] of the Chief Rabbinate, intolerant of non-Orthodox streams and of secular Jews, against army service, related to another present or former chief rabbi. Silly minister (of justice), tricks are for kids
MK Yaakov Neeman has a long and honored history for his service to the State of Israel. An accomplished attorney - he has served as justice minister and as finance minister. Once again, he occupies the position of Minister of Justice in the Netanyahu government. No Ayatollahs for Israel
Many years ago, shortly after the first McDonald's restaurant opened in Jerusalem, I spoke with a group of Jewish youth visiting from the States. They lamented the fact that the restaurant was not Kosher. This led to a discussion where over half of the participants felt that Israeli law should require restaurants - at least in western Jerusalem - to be Kosher. No Big Macs with cheese. "This is a Jewish State and the laws should reflect Jewish values and traditions," one opined. Ritual Baths: Single women and converts stay away
Imagine the following scenario: A Masorti/Conservative Jew walks into a public library in Tel Aviv to borrow a book. At the entry she is informed by the librarian, a civil servant, that owing to her Masorti affiliation, she would not be permitted to borrow the book. If she truly wanted to read she would have to raise the funds to build her own building, stock it with books, and find the money to staff the facility and pay for its maintenance. Sounds silly, right? Well of course it is. Our public libraries are built and maintained with tax payer dollars. They are intended to serve all of the public. There is no ideological or theological litmus test to determine who may borrow a book. Yet this is exactly what happens when Masorti Jews seek to use the public Mikvehs (ritual baths) throughout Israel. Black Hat Politics
Anybody know exactly what the Israeli Interior Ministry's intended functions may be? Yes, we all know that it is where we go to apply for a new passport or replace a lost ID card. We know that requests for aliyah [immigration], or visas (work, tourist, student, etc.) are routed through one of its departments. But should this be the office that Shas, the Sephardi religious political party, most covets? What is really going on? A bone to pick with our Chief Rabbinate
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has been defined as "the supreme religious governing body in the State of Israel". Of course, even if there was validity to this definition - let us not forget to add "for the Jewish people." For there is no single body that can govern over all of the recognized religions. The State of Israel respects, or certainly ought to respect, residents of all religious faith traditions. Asking the hard questions
Every ten years Israel, as well as many other countries, carries out a population census. Many questions are asked in an effort to obtain information about the citizens. It may pay to be Jewish
A new director, Muli Yeselson, has just been appointed by the office of the Prime Minister, to the Israeli Conversion Authority. He has already come under severe criticism by the Haredi press, calling him a "traitor" and "collaborator." Rabbi Druckman, the recently ousted director, was far from popular in the fervently Orthodox world. While hardly a liberal, he was seen as too open and the conversions performed on his watch were questioned by the official Rabbinic courts. Issues of conversion have been covered on the front pages of Israeli newspapers on a frequent basis. Most sociologists accept that there are as many as 350,000 Israeli citizens living in Israel from the Former Soviet Union who are not Jewish. They made Aliyah under the Law of Return that allows Israeli citizenship with a single Jewish grandfather. But Jewish law recognizes as Jewish one who has a Jewish mother or who has converted to Judaism. Judaism and equality - or lack thereof
The days of Passover command us to remember the story of the Exodus. One of the most fundamental messages of the Exodus is the idea that a nation has decided that "freedom" can take precedence over life itself. In fact, halakha tells us that maintaining our freedom to remain Jews is one of the very few cases in which we must be willing to give up our lives. In the past, the freedom of religion, in the sense of conducting rituals, was left to a small, elite group and the role of the religious leadership was crucial - that was the reality when man entered the modern age. |
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