Religion and State in Israel
March 24, 2008 (Section 1) (continues in Section 2)
Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.
Rabbi: Don't hire, rent homes to Arabs
By Matthew Wagner, JPost.com March 19, 2008
In response to Rabbi Dov Lior's comments, attorney Einat Horowitz, head of the Reform Movement's legal arm, said that
"We view with concern the new wave of calls against Arabs since the terrible terrorist attack on Mercaz Harav.
"There is a phenomenon of rising racial incitement against Arabs that distorts Judaism and is also illegal. We call on the attorney-general to wake up and act to enforce the law and prohibit calls like this.
"It is inconceivable that public figures, including those who are salaried state employees, continue to voice discriminatory exhortations unchallenged.
State officials need to intervene and make it clear that these comments are illegitimate."
Rabbi Lior speaks out against hiring of Arabs
By Efrat Weiss, Ynetnews.com March 20, 2008
"It is strictly prohibited to hire Arabs, or to rent houses on Israeli land to them," head of the Yesha Rabbis Council and chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, Rabbi Dov Lior ruled this week.
"Their employment is out of the question, not only in the yeshivas but also in hotels or factories; basically anywhere," he added.
Rabbinic fatwas
Haaretz Editorial March 21, 2008
In recent days a number of halakhic instructions have been issued seeking to widen the division between Jews and Arabs.
These rulings also heighten a dangerous process in which a national conflict between two peoples that can be resolved by compromise is transformed into a religious conflict where extremist halakhic rulings and fatwas - their Islamic counterparts - prevent compromise and perpetuate hatred.
Int'l Agunot Day: 'I want women to know it's not a mitzva to suffer in silence'
By Ruth Eglash, JPost.com March 19, 2008
"I want all women to know that it is not a mitzva to suffer in silence," said Zehava. "I urge them to speak out and seek help any way they can."
"Women go into a marriage of their own free will and they should be allowed to leave a marriage in the same way," said Robyn Shames, executive director of International Coalition of Aguna Rights (ICAR), who is also familiar with Zehava's case.
Shames said that Wednesday's demonstration would hopefully, among other things, encourage the legislature to push through a bill on the division of property between divorcing couples that has already passed its first reading in the Knesset and is an important step to affording agunot women and those refused a divorce their freedom.
She also said that the public had to be made aware that they should not accept individuals who refuse to give their partners a divorce.
See also: ICAR Petition – Denouncing get recalcitrance
Saving women from the 'chain'
By Sarah Breger, Haaretz March 21, 2008
The writer is a 2007-08 Dorot Fellow, is a volunteer with Young Israel Rabbis in Israel.
It is imperative that the prenuptial agreement become standard procedure in Israel.
As more couples sign, social stigma will vanish and it will become a normal part of the marriage ceremony.
The rabbinate should actively promote the agreement when a couple goes to register for marriage. Information about the prenup should be part of the curriculum in premarital courses required of men and women, and should be publicized through schools, youth movements and the army.
Lawyers who specialize in family law can do much to encourage couples to sign by explaining the agreement's legal implications.
Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel - The Agreement for Mutual Respect: A Prenuptial Agreement for the Prevention of Get-Refusal
Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel - Agunah & Get Refusal: Prevention and Intervention
Anti-missionaries suspected in attack
By Yaakov Lappin, JPost.com March 234, 2008
Police investigating the sending of a package which exploded in the home of a Christian pastor in Ariel are leaning toward the theory that a Jewish anti-missionary was behind the attack, the preacher told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Oritz's Jewish-born wife, Leah, is a member of Jews for Jesus. The pastor says dozes of families in Ariel have been influenced by his teachings. "We have about 50 families," he declared.
He described a long history of tensions with anti-missionary activists in Ariel, which included flyers and a petition calling for the family to leave the city.
"My neighbor said he had been told by religious Jews that if we were the only ones living in this building, they would have bombed it," Oritz said.
"When we first came into this town, the rabbi visited us and told me I was not allowed to talk about Yeshua [Jesus] outside of my apartment. I told him that as far I know, this is not a crime in this country. This is a democratic country, people can say whatever they want outside their house," Oritz said.
"They put posters all over town warning residents to keep away from us and calling for us to be excommunicated, and there was a demonstration in front of our house. If all my neighbors had signed the petition calling on us to leave, I would have to leave by law. Some of my neighbors refused to sign," he added.
Loving Jesus, fearing the neighbors in Ariel
By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz March 24, 2008
"The same people who hounded that family might find me tomorrow," one man said, describing his fear and reluctance to be identified.
He comes to this home weekly to meet and pray with about 20 other men and women. Most are from the United States, but some are from the former Soviet Union and others, like the man who spoke to us, are native Israelis.
He said he was a member of several religious cults before he "saw the light" while reading the New Testament seven years ago.
Messianic Jews: We're subjected to harassment
By Roni Gal, Ynetnews.com March 21, 2008
Caleb Meyers, the representative of the messianic Jewish community in Israel, explains that
"There is a campaign of harassment against the Messianic Jewish community by radical religious organizations that are trying to create dehumanization – especially in religious newspapers."
Click here for Israel Channel 2 news documentary concerning the Messianic Jewish Community in Israel.
