Separate but equal: can 'Mehadrin' buses be OK?

There was a time, not so long ago, that "separate but equal" was an acceptable practice in the United States. The concept is quite simple: Communities would establish "colored only" facilities or services for blacks, with the quality of each group's public facilities were (supposedly) equal.
 
Of course the concept never worked, and the facilities of minorities were rarely equal. And even where the facility may have been identical, morality dictates that there be no discrimination based on color.
 
Now, here in Israel, it is women who are being told to go to the back of the bus - literally! Egged, the national/public bus company, has several lines where women must enter from the rear of the bus. Women pulling a "Rosa Parks" risk scorn, if not violence.
 
These so called "Mehadrin lines" (a term usually intended to convey strict adherence to Jewish law) are intended to serve a fervently Orthodox public that would prefer to ride in segregated seating.
 
Is this OK? Well, maybe it is. 
 
Jewish law does not demand segregation. The illustrious Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that there is no Halachic requirement to have segregation of the sexes on  public transportation. But this does not necessarily mean that it has no place.

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Civil Unions in Israel - but not for you

I continue, despite nearly 22 years of living in Israel, to be flabbergasted at the (select any of the following adjectives) stupidity, naivete, incompetence, ignorance and close-mindedness of our Knesset members.
 
Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Knesset Law Committee where a bill to legalize civil unions was discussed. Such unions would grant couples most rights enjoyed by married couples.
 
Many countries have such a law. In some, it allows couples to choose this path rather than a traditional religious ceremony. In others it may be augmented by a ceremony. Still elsewhere, it provides a solution for those unable to marry under state law.
 
Here in Israel all marriage is religious (read: Orthodox for Jews). This means that two Jews may marry via the official rabbinate. Two Catholics may marry in the church. Muslims may also marry one another in their faith tradition.
 
But Israel has over 340,000 citizens unable to marry at all. Imagine, a democratic country where such a sizable portion of the population must travel to Cyprus, or elsewhere in the world, to be registered as a married couple. These are mostly citizens who immigrated under the Law of Return but who are not halachically Jewish (not Jews in the eyes of Jewish law). They may live as Jews in every way, but they were not born to a Jewish mother and conversion in Israel is, even when one is willing to be demeaned by the process, nearly impossible.
 
I do not favor intermarriage. I work hard to see that a Jew will choose to marry a Jew. But it is just silly, presuming you do not favor a theocracy, for intermarriage to be illegal (of course, that is, unless you have the money to fly to Cyprus for the day). But even more silly is that there is no way for those with no official religion to marry at all. There is also no way for same-sex couples to marry (Israel will register the unions of gay couples married in countries that provide for this). There is no way for one of the 340,000 who may fall in love with a classmate, or a fellow soldier serving in the IDF, to wed.

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To hell with logic

Let me ask for your help in following the logic behind the laws and policies by which conversions are accepted, or not, by the State of Israel.
 
If you are converted by a recognized Masorti/Conservative (or Reform) rabbi outside of Israel - you are entitled to Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
 
If you are converted by an Orthodox rabbi in the US who is a member of the leading Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), you will not be recognized - unless the conversion is performed by the limited list selected by Israel's Chief Rabbinate.
 
If you are converted by Orthodox rabbis who have been ordained by Hovevei Torah (the new Modern Orthodox rabbinical school) you will be given the run-around and, until matters change, not be accepted.

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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.
 
But Neeman is a great manipulator. He has a brilliant way of twisting justice to meet his point of view and shunting aside those who have views with which he disagrees. He is a supreme illusionist.

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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. 
 
"If this is how you feel," I asked, "do you feel the laws ought to prohibit women from wearing pants in public, require married women to cover their hair, outlaw couples from holding hands in public, and punish homosexuality?"
 
"I am not a fanatic," he responded.

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Saying Kaddish for Conservative Judaism?

In his recent remarks to The Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Norman Lamm, the esteemed chancellor of Yeshiva University, pronounced the time near to say Kaddish [the prayer for the dead] for the Conservative and the Reform Movements.
 
I shall leave it to the leaders of the Reform Movement to react to his criticism of their stream - I shall react to his criticism of Conservative/Masorti Judaism.
 
Rabbi Lamm states, "The Conservatives are in a mood of despondency and pessimism."
 
I am not certain upon what he bases this assertion. I, for one, am optimistic and foresee a firm future for Judaism and for the Masorti Movement.

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The Rabbi, The Pope and the Western Wall

The Western Wall (Kotel in Hebrew) has been a symbol to the Jewish people since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem which marked the end of the Jewish commonwealth in our land. Even when the State of Israel was reestablished in 1948, Jews could only look from afar toward this site, a retaining wall of the Temple Mount.
 
There are so many stories depicting efforts by Jews to pray there, or to smuggle in a Shofar on Rosh HaShana, during the British Mandate. During Jordanian rule we were barred completely.
 
Of course, once retaken during the course of  the Six Day War, it immediately became a pilgrimage site for Jews the world over. The plaza behind was cleared of homes to create a large space for visitors.
 
A modest Mechizah (dividing barrier) was nearly immediately erected. Even in the sixties, when a Masorti (Conservative) Minyan sought to pray in keeping with their custom, with men and women together - Mayor Teddy Kollek declared the time not yet ripe. We are now forty years later and the idea seems even more distant.

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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.
 
So who should serve as the Chief Rabbi of Israel? Well, to begin with, lack of agreement on this question means that we have two Chief Rabbis. One Ashkenazi and one Sephardi. In the city of Tel Aviv, where the city council imposed budgetary constraints, they somehow manage to make due with but one municipal Chief Rabbi.

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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.
 
Regular surveys are a part of everyday life. Some are to determine political leanings, educational, culinary preferences, television viewing habits and more.
 
Recently I received a call from a polling organization asking me, among other questions, to categorize my religious leanings. I was given three choices: Dati (religious), masorti (traditional), and secular.

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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.

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