March 1, 2010 (Section 2) (see also Section 1)
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Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement
Pre-nup agreements growing in popularity, survey shows
By Ruth Eglash www.jpost.com February 23, 2010
Prenuptial agreements are increasing in popularity, with many viewing them as the best way to avoid a refusal to grant a divorce, a new survey by the International Coalition of Agunah Rights (ICAR).
Published ahead of International Agunah Day on Thursday, the Dahaf-commissioned poll found that 71 percent of the public favors a legally binding agreement prior to marriage, believing it would prevent either partner from becoming a siruv get‚ (a person refused a writ of divorce under Jewish law) or an agunah (a "chained" woman whose husband is unable to grant her a divorce).
By Rachel Levmore Opinion www.jpost.com February 25, 2010
The writer is a rabbinical court advocate; coordinator of the Get-Refusal Prevention
Either way you look at it, International "Aguna Day" or "International Aguna" Day, it highlights an international problem that is continually growing beyond all proportion.
Whether one regards Thursday, February 25 as a day of reflection and an across-the-globe call to action on the aguna problem, or as a day which marks the growing phenomenon of international agunot, we Jews must admit - we have a problem.
By Yael Levine www.kolech.com February 22, 2010
The "Mi she-Berakh for Agunot and Mesorvot Get" which I composed is scheduled to be recited this coming Shabbat in shuls throughout the Jewish world.
The International Aguna Day is marked on Ta'anit Esther, the thirteenth of Adar. This year, the thirteenth of Adar falls on the coming Shabbat, Shabbat Parashat Tetzaveh and Shabbat Zakhor, and the fast itself is held this coming Thursday, February 25.
www.jewishideasdaily.com February 24, 2010
In contemporary Israel, where marriage and divorce are in the hands of the chief rabbinate, the often extreme stringency of the ultra-Orthodox has engendered new waves of protest and criticism, but also innovative measures to deal with the problem. These include prenuptial agreements proposed by moderate rabbis working with women scholars of the law. A resolution of the agunah problem, once and for all, may be the ultimate test of halakhah's ability to find, or recover, its moral voice.
Hunting a Halakhic squeeze for hardheaded men
www.haaretz.com January 30, 2010
Professor Brachyahu Lifshitz is disappointed. Lifshitz, a lecturer in law at Hebrew University, specializing in Hebrew law, was invited … to a session of the Knesset Committee on the Advancement of Women to present his proposal for a solution to the problem of women who have been refused divorces by their husbands
…his proposal effectively grants the Knesset a key role in solving the problem, through a revolutionary law…
By Elana Sztokman Opinion http://blogs.forward.com February 23, 2010
…what distinguishes our culture is that ours is the only language in the world that has the word “agunah.”
An agunah is a woman indefinitely stuck in an unwanted marriage, in which the husband is gone but she is still considered married.
It is the word for a woman’s perpetual state of limbo, in which she is chained to a man who has complete freedom to move, marry, produce offspring and live a normal life.
The cruelty reflected in a society that enables even one agunah to exist — and accepts this situation as a reality to such an extent that it gives her a name — should bring us all enormous shame.
International Coalition for Agunah Rights http://www.icar.org.il/en/
“Women Unchained” – How Can We Protect Our Daughters?
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference program
The Making of a New Agunah Documentary Narrated by Mayim Bialik
Darryle Gillman and Beverly Siegel
After laboring to move heaven and earth to get her daughter a get, Darryle Gillman resolved to go public to help other woman avoid a similar fate. She enlisted writer/director Beverly Siegel who teamed up with editor Leta Lenik and they produced “Women Unchained,” a soon-to-be-released documentary chronicling six women’s experiences and featuring internationally known experts.
Exposing the impact on children -- and on parents who pay for their chained daughter’s freedom -- “Women Unchained” takes an irreverent look at the process by which some women must "negotiate" their way out of a Jewish marriage.
Speaking in a Language Rabbis Understand: Preventing Agunah
Rachel Levmore
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference program
Persuading an insular and resistant community such as the rabbinate, to make use of innovative ideas in general is a challenge, all the more so when it comes to solving the aguna problem. A method which has been effective in disseminating the concept of prenuptial agreements for the prevention of get-refusal amongst the highly resistant group of Israeli rabbis, has been "speaking to them in their own language".
Halakhic Justice for the Agunah: A 40 Year Retrospective
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference program
Blu Greenberg
Despite 40 years of efforts and a flurry of interest in recent years, the burning problem of suffering agunot in our community remains to haunt our collective conscience. Scholars, ancient and modern, clash over possible solutions, and we will try to assess these conflicting positions. A variety of communal and organizational efforts have been built up in our times, and these too will be critically evaluated in our session. Is it time for an agenda that will not keep us waiting another 40 years?
The RCA Prenup: $10,000 and Counting?
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference program
Susan Aranoff
In this session, the legal/halakhic and procedural issues underlying several real, precedent-setting cases with the RCA Beit Din will be discussed. In one case, a former agunah whose spouse had signed a pre-nup agreement was awarded $10,000 in a din torah. In another, an annulment was obtained. Why did these cases have successful outcomes?
Civil marriage bill torpedoed by Kadima, Israel Beiteinu
By Rebecca Anna Stoil www.jpost.com February 24, 2010
Kadima’s attempt to put pressure on coalition member Israel Beiteinu proved costly for both sides on Wednesday, with Israel Beiteinu forced to defend itself against charges of neglecting campaign promises whileKadima once again displayed a lack of party discipline.
Kadima MK Meir Sheetrit’s bill to permit civil marriage in cases in which couples could not be married by the Chief Rabbinate fell by a landslide 58-22 in its preliminary reading, with a third ofKadima MKs absent from the roll-call vote.
Tzohar to Hold 60 Megillah Readings Around Israel
By Hana Levi Julian www.israelnationalnews.com February 23, 2010
The Tzohar organization will hold Megillah readings and Purim celebrations in 60 locations around Israel this year in its efforts to bridge the gap between religious and secular Jews. More than 1,000 religious Zionist rabbis and educators volunteer their services with the organization.
“Our goal is to help secular Israelis feel less alienated when it comes to religious practice and show them that there are many ways to embrace religion and become spiritually involved with one's Judaism,” explained Rabbi David Stav, Chairman of Tzohar.
“Many [secular] Israelis have a very strong Jewish identity and love Jewish tradition.”
Female-only megila readings growing in popularity
By Jonah Mandel www.jpost.com February 28, 2010
The phenomenon of women-only readings of the Scroll of Esther is increasingly growing within observant communities, with the halachic rationale and ruling being that since women were part of the Purim miracle, they are obliged to hear the megila.
And in Judaism, an obligated individual, a woman in this case, can exempt others through the act.
Bnei Brak launches 'no smoking on Purim' campaign
By Yoav Zeitun www.ynetnews.com February 23, 2010
The campaign, which goes by the title "Israel's great scholars against smoking," is meant to prevent young haredim from starting to smoke in the spirit of the holiday's gaieties, a turning point behavior that could turn from a one-time event into a fixed and addictive habit.
The campaign is being run by the municipal education department. Hundreds of notices, pamphlets, and fliers will be distributed as part of the effort.
Rabbi Eliyahu: No dressing as women for Purim
By Kobi Nahshoni www.ynetnews.com February 25, 2010
Safed's leading rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu, has issued a halachic ruling that men are forbidden to dress as women, since the injunction "neither shall a man put on a woman's garment' (Deuteronomy 22:5) is valid also during the Purim holiday.
…the rabbi noted that some authorities exclude children under the age of 13 from this injunction or permit the wearing of one women's garment, but said that those who follow the ruling strictly will be blessed.
Chacham Ovadia Shlita: Two Days of Purim in Lod
By Yechiel Spira www.theyeshivaworld.com February 25, 2010
According to the p’sak halacha released by Rishon L’Tzion HaGaon Chacham Ovadia Yosef Shlita, residents of Lod must observe two days of Purim, reading the megilla with a bracha on 14 Adar and once again on the 15th, Shushan Purim without a bracha.
Rabbi Yosef: Drunkenness is abominable
By Kobi Nahshoni www.ynetnews.com February 28, 2010
Shas' spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia, Yosef saaid Saturday evening that "drunkenness is an abominable and nefarious act" and that in Purim one must drink very little wine, only as a symbolic act to remember Ahasuerus' feast – without getting intoxicated.
Why the status quo in the Kotel "is not acceptable"
By Shmuel Rosen www.jpost.com February 27, 2010
Interview with Rabbi Steven Wernick
Rabbi Steven Wernick is the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's executive vice president and chief executive officer.
We have never given up the principle of full pluralism and equality in Israeli society. We go to the courts to have our rights upheld and to gain access to the Western Wall today. But the larger issues of religious pluralism of Israel being a Jewish state for all the Jews remains.
Furthermore, sadly, there is a long tradition in Israel of many ultra-Orthodox religious leaders disregarding court rulings until the courts rule against them repeatedly.
…The status quo is not acceptable. It doesn't accommodate all Jews. Remember, the Kotel is not a synagogue, so the ultra-Orthodox, who represent themselves as the highest common denominator but in fact are only one group among many, should not be allowed to impose laws there that accommodate only them.
Oren: Dispute at Wall will require ‘compromise’
http://jta.org February 23, 2010
"I will only assure you that I think there are good solutions for the problems at the Kotel," Oren said in response to a question on the subject.
"They are at the top of my agenda. And that at the end of the day, it will require compromise on everyone's behalf."
Women of the Wall’s Rivka Haut
http://morethodoxy.org February 18, 2010
Women of the Wall (WOW) has rejected any alternative space. For the past 21 years, other sites have been offered, they have all been rejected.
WOW has made one major concession, limiting their request (demand) to safely conduct halakhic prayer services at the kotel to one hour a month, at seven AM each Rosh Chodesh.
The ezrat nashim at the Kotel is the appropriate place for the non minyan women’s only service. It is there that WOW chooses to pray.
That is the site where jewish women from all over the world gather to pray. That is the site that a woman’s prayer group is most needed and belongs.
Fighting for the right to pray
By Joel Magalnick http://jew-ish.com February 23, 2010
“[The Kotel] can’t be an ultra-Orthodox synagogue. Judaism should not be dictated by one faction only,” [Anat Hoffman] said.
Hoffman said she doubts that prosecutors will pursue a case against her of “performing a religious act that offends the feeling of others,” which could result in a $3,000 fine or six-month prison term.
“I think it’s insanity if they decide to pursue it, but hopefully it’s going to make things happen here,” Hoffman said. “That’s my hope.”
Women of the Wall founder laments lack of freedom in Israel
By Amanda Pazornik www.jweekly.com February 25, 2010
Anat Hoffman: “You’ll be given another wall. It’s a nice place, but it’s separate. Is that something people would go for?”
“Who are these people?” she said. “Is it that the Wall is dear to them? Is it the intimidation of women that’s getting them riled up? Is it that access to the sacred in Israel is barred? What is it about Women of the Wall that hit a nerve?”
Mystery Torah Scroll Abandoned at the Kosel
www.vosizneias.com February 26, 2010
Visitors at the Kosel Maarovi this week were in for a surprise: Offering no explanation, a man arrived, left a sefer Torah and quickly left the scene.
According to Maariv, Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rov of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites, discovered the sefer Torah was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Women of the Wall, 2010: Prayer, Pluralism, Prejudice, Police and Politics
Jackie Koch Ellenson, Blu Greenberg, and Rivka Haut; Moderator: Gary Rosenblatt
The panel will deal with the the halakhic and spiritual issues of women in prayer at the Kotel, the agreement between WOW and the courts, the reaction of the haredi community to the presence of women's tefila at the kotel, and possible resolutions to the current political situation.
[Purim] Government may ratify plan for Western Wall sponsorship
By Avi Nalaf www.haaretz.com February 28, 2010
Most people go to the Western Wall to pray, but now some will also head there to pay.
The cabinet is set to approve a plan that would allow for sponsorship messages to be beamed onto the Western Wall, sources in the Prime Minister's Office told Haaretz Saturday.
If the law is passed by the Knesset, any company will be able to project the image, logo or slogan of its choice on the ancient stones, for a price.
I'm Not a Feminist, But I Play One on TV: Media & Gender in Srugim
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Conference March 13, 2010 www.jofa.org
Shayna Weiss
Srugim is an Israeli television show that focuses on the lives of religious Zionist singles living in Jerusalem, but the main focus of Srugim is the most universal of subjects: love and dating.
What can we learn about religious Zionist attitudes towards sex and dating by watching a fictional television show?
How are observant Jews challenging the status quo via new media production? Is there a "religious" way to create television?
By Yair Rosenberg www.jewishreviewofbooks.com
Yair Rosenberg is a junior at Harvard College and an Arts and Culture editor at The Harvard Crimson.
The remarkable success of Srugim across religious and ideological lines shows that this approach resonates with viewers of all stripes.
In a world where shows like Sex and the City tend to glamorize the shallowest elements of human experience, Srugim and its characters manage to strive for meaning and not merely entertainment.
Letter from Ketura: Where the Local is Global
By Yosef Israel Abramowitz Opinion www.hadassahmagazine.org February/March 2010 Vol. 91 No. 4
After our three-year sojourn as a family in the Arava Desert, I am hoping that at least one of my children will end up joining Kibbutz Ketura so that I can have burial rights there alongside my heroes, friends and fellow Young Judaeans.
…Our goal was to live simply, calmly and with increased family time, in a Jewish community, restoring a better balance to our hectic lives. Susan and I were to each write books; hers about theology and adoption and mine about the future of the Jewish people.
We had no idea how radical the move to Ketura would be.
Tolerance Museum Dispute Continues Despite Document
By Michele Chabin www.jewishjournal.com February 23, 2010
A 1940s newspaper article detailing plans by Muslim officials to construct a commercial center atop the Mamilla Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem, near the controversial site upon which the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance is slated to be built, bolsters the center’s assertions that Muslims at the time no longer considered the cemetery a sacred heritage site.
Interview with Benjamin Pogrund, Jerusalem's Yakar
By Raphael Ahren www.haaretz.com February 26, 2010
Benjamin Pogrund, former deputy editor of the Johannesburg-based Rand Daily Mail
Early on, for example, he invited rabbis from all four Jewish religious streams to debate Israeli conversion laws.
"Today I would be too nervous to ask [a Haredi rabbi to debate a Reform rabbi]," he said.
"That's probably wrong, because there are some Haredim [open for debate] and society needs this discussion desperately.
Perhaps we should have pursued harder over the years; this was probably a failure on my part. Never mind the distance between Jews and Arabs, the [schism] inside the Jewish community is extremely worrying."
Shas Breaks Old Taboo, Joins Zionists
By Nathan Jeffay www.forward.com February 24, 2010
Israel’s largest ultra-Orthodox political party is eliciting outrage from those to its right and a mix of anxiety and applause from those to its left after breaking a 113-year-old taboo and joining the Zionist establishment.
Shas is a “Trojan horse,” Rabbi Uri Regev, a member of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors, told the Forward.
“I see Shas entering not as a triumph of pluralism, but an example of the cynical manipulation of democratic processes — not in order to strengthen Zionist activities and organizations but to abuse them,” said Regev, a leading Israeli Reform rabbi and CEO of Hiddush, an organization that pushes for religious pluralism in Israel.
…He said he fears that it will “push out” non-Orthodox voices from the Zionist movement, and believes that its antagonism toward the Reform and Conservative movements undermines its ability to work within the organization.
In the year 2030, a report by JPPPI
By Jacob Berkman http://blogs.jta.org February 24, 2010
The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute in Jerusalem today released its paper “2030: Alternative Futures for the Jewish People.” I am now trying to read through the 120 page document, which explores four alternate realities that could befall the Jewish people in 20 years, ranging from real good to catastrophic.
Alternative Futures for the Jewish People
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com February 25, 2010
The Alternative Futures project identifies main trends and key drivers shaping the possible alternative futures of the Jewish People.
Birthright foundation announces matching grants program
By Jacob Berkman http://blogs.jta.org February 25, 2010
The Birthright Israel Foundation on Thursday announced a new matching grant program for 2010.
The program will give a dollar-for-dollar match on any increase in donations to the foundation based on 2008 gifts. That means if a donor gave $100 in 2008, and gives $120 in 2010, the $20 increase would be matched by the foundation.
Jewish Agency Names New Director General
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com February 28, 2010
Alan Hoffmann, currently the Director General, Education Department – Jewish Agency for Israel, has been named Director General of the Jewish Agency.
Alan succeeds Moshe Vigdor who is leaving to accept the same position with the Council for Higher Education and the Education Ministry’s council on planning and budget.
JNF sues board member for £700k costs
By Simon Rocker www.thejc.com February 25, 2010
JNF UK could be heading for a new High Court case later this year after suing a former board member for nearly £700,000.
The charity claims that Maurice Sherling (known as Charlie), owes the money to cover the JNF's legal fees in its past dispute with its Israeli associate Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL).
N.Y. Jews accuse Be'er Sheva Kabbalist of massive fraud
By Natasha Mozgovaya www.haaretz.com February 26, 2010
Ellowich's story recalls the pattern of behavior by Abuhatzeira that Haaretz detailed in a series of articles in 1997: He tries to impress people, persuades them to write a check in exchange for a blessing, obtains more money and threatens a curse if necessary.
Jerusalem Municipality resumes cooperation with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
By Peggy Cidor www.jpost.com February 26, 2010
With Nir Barkat’s election as mayor, there were hopes that the ban on the IFCJ would be lifted. That dream is about to come true.
On Wednesday, at a special meeting at City Hall, Barkat and Eckstein announced the resumption of cooperation between the IFCJ and the municipality. According to the agreement, the first sum to be donated this year is NIS 13.5 million, which will be allocated to what has been called a joint fight against poverty by the municipality and the IFCJ. Most of the funds will go to help support the Ethiopian community.
See also:
Jerusalem and IFCJ Join Together to Fight Poverty
IFCJ donates over $3M for urgent need funds
By David Newman Opinion www.jpost.com February 22, 2010
It is not often, to say the least, that I agree with the political views espoused by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, one of the rabbis of Beit El in the West Bank and, more significantly, the head of the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem.
…Aviner came out in a strong attack of the unholy alliance which has developed in recent years by some groups on the radical Right of Israeli politics and the Christian Fundamentalist and Evangelical movements in North America.
Missionaries Use Purim to Woo Soldiers
By Gil Ronen www.israelnationalnews.com February 23, 2010
Missionaries in the Ashkelon area used the Purim tradition of handing out baskets of foodstuffs and sweets to try and spread their beliefs to Jewish soldiers.
Civil rights group wants AG to disband Yad L'achim organization
www.ynetnews.com February 23, 2010
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice has turned to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein in a request to disband the Yad L'achim organization and declare it a terrorist organization.
March 1, 2010 (Section 2) (see also Section 1)
Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement
All rights reserved.
