Monday, March 8, 2010

Religion and State in Israel - March 8, 2010 (Section 2)

Religion and State in Israel

March 8, 2010 (Section 2) (see also Section 1)

If you are reading in email or RSS feed, please click here to read ONLINE

Editor – Joel Katz

Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.


Signs hung overnight against 'kosher' buses

By Kobi Nahshoni www.ynetnews.com March 3, 2010

Dozens of young people protesting the separation between men and women on public transportation in Jerusalem toured a number of cities Tuesday night where they hung signs in protest of the "mehadrin lines" that stipulate such a separation.

In a nighttime campaign, called "A Stop in Time," the protesters hung posters that sought to demonstrate to the public what public transportation could look like in the future if the mehadrin lines are authorized and expanded. The signs were hung in hundreds of bus stops in Jerusalem, Ra’anana, Holon, Tel Aviv, Beersheba, and Tiberias.

"This is bus stop is mehadrin kosher. Thus, men enter and sit down in the front; women and all the rest – to the back," the posters read.

Underneath the headline is an illustration showing that "women, blacks, and minorities" belong in the back along with a "kashrut stamp" showing that the line has been deemed kosher "with the oversight of the transportation minister and subsidized by the State."


Segregated Bus Lines Coming to You Soon!

By Kobi Nahshoni www.ynetnews.com March 3, 2010

[On March 3, 2010], the Forum of Organizations for a Free Jerusalem will hold a rally in from of the prime minister's residence in a call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get involved in the issue. They will also call for Minister Katz's resignation.


Where are the Mehadrin buses taking us – On gender separation on buses

By Professor Avi Sagi, Professor Adi Ophir, Dr. Iris Brown Opinion www.hartman.org.il March 2, 2010

Is the approval of bus lines, on which men sit in the front and women in the back, an expression of cultural tolerance or perhaps a hechsher (permit) to oppress and exclude women?

Does the obligation of a democratic society to protect the culture of a minority override the responsibility to maintain basic values?

And does the issue of Mehadrin buses constitute a self-righteous attack on the Ultra-Orthodox sector?

Does it distract attention from other types of segregation, or does it touch on the core ethical questions that should be of concern to Israeli citizens?


Opposition Mounts to Gender Segregation in Public Places

www.nif.org March 4, 2010

Jerusalem Counsel Member Rachel Azaria, who is herself Orthodox and is an outspoken opponent of gender segregation in public places, said, "There has been a clear change in Israeli public opinion over the past year.

At first secular Israelis would say this does not affect me and leave the ultra-Orthodox to live how they want.

But discourse has changed. People now realize that there are gender-segregated buses in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ashdod as well as Jerusalem and B'nei Brak. People now realize that these public buses contravene Israeli democratic values."


A possible truce to our bus wars

By Nathan Jeffay Opinion www.haaretz.com March 7, 2010


"Travel in Safety - Travel with Egged"

What if Haredi men got to exercise their market power and travel in a female-free environment without chipping away at Israel's liberal values?

What if they segregated themselves instead of expecting others to be segregated from them? What if they - not women - were the ones tucking themselves out of the way?

…the privilege of restricted-usage seating would have to come at a price, and tickets for the special section would need to be more expensive than normal tickets, to make up for the inevitably lower turnover of this area.


Interview with Film Director Anat Zuria

By Ayelet Dekel www.midnighteast.com March 5, 2010

Click here for FILM Trailer

Anat Yuta Zuria has created a trilogy of films exploring the lives of women in the context of Halakhah (Jewish religious law) and the religious community in Israel: Purity (Tehora 2002), Sentenced to Marriage (Mekudeshet 2004), and the most recent, Black Bus (Soreret 2009), which will be shown at the Jerusalem Theatre on Monday, March 8, International Women’s Day.

Midnight East’s Ayelet Dekel spoke to the filmmaker, who reflected on this body of work, its origins, processes and vision.

For the movie Black Bus, I looked for women who are rebelling and that are like us, dealing with documentation. In a way the movie is about me, about women who are involved in documentation and are looking at this world with an outsider/insider perspective.


Sex segregation continues in Jerusalem Municipality

By Tzipi Malchov www.ynetnews.com March 2, 2010

The Jerusalem Municipality's sex segregation policy appears to be steadily growing. After the report of a women's-only tour of the Underground Prisoners Museum the city is now organizing an "Andalusian soiree" to include performances from liturgical poets - for men only.

A statement issued by the Jerusalem Municipality stated, "Due to the fact that many men in the haredi public do not attend concerts designated for both sexes, even if separation exists, it is the department's obligation to allow them to enjoy such an event."


The narrowing of the Israeli mindset

By Rabbi Menachem Creditor Opinion www.jweekly.com March 4, 2010

Rabbi Menachem Creditor is the spiritual leader of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA.

I asked the following question of Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, during his whirlwind trip through the Bay Area two weeks ago: Given the mandate for Israel, from both a geopolitical and traditional Jewish framework, to ensure the physical survival (pikuach nefesh) of its people, when is the right time to fight for Israeli religious pluralism for Jews?

…Judaism is more complicated than one form. May the place we all face become a welcoming meeting point for all forms of Judaism. May the distinction of holding Torah be a point of dignity and pride for Jewish women and men, at the Kotel and everywhere else.


Religious freedom — don’t take it for granted

By William Lipsey Opinion http://njjewishnews.com March 3, 2010

William Lipsey of Livingston, NJ is immediate past president of Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell and a member of the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism board.

We also visited 13 Masorti communities led by passionate, intense young Israelis seeking to make a difference.

…These communities face a daunting obstacle in the form of their government. There is a national religion in Israel, and I am sorry to report that few of us fit comfortably under its umbrella.

…Religious freedom is our gift. Let’s make sure we pass this on to our kids here and in Israel.


Religious Pluralism in Israel

http://ravrho.blogspot.com February 27, 2010

A Response to Marc Rosenstein's Galilee Diary “Perspective”, delivered by Rabbi/Cantor Rhoda JH Silverman on Shabbat Zachor

If the Women of the Wall cannot expect to be treated with dignity and respect, than how on earth can the majority of Israelis be expected to treat anyone viewed as ‘the other’ with any level of dignity and respect?

The recognition of religious pluralism, the full acceptance of non-Orthodox Jews in Israel, is equally important as the sundry of other issues this young nation faces and more importantly, sets a standard of humanitarian treatment for all.


We are all brethren

By Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz Opinion www.jpost.com March 1, 2010

The writer is the rabbi of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.


Women of the Wall - Anat Hoffman

At the Western Wall, the home of every Jew, no one is completely satisfied – neither the zealots of Jerusalem nor the fighters for equality; neither those wishing to conduct Torah lessons on the plaza, nor those wishing to conduct a women’s minyan.

…Therefore, the Western Wall is not a place for ceremonies or demonstrations, proclamations or tongue-lashings. The Wall is the place where all of us, as individuals, join our nation and heritage.


Women's Rights at the Western Wall

http://shalomtv.org March 2010

Why aren’t women permitted to engage in certain Jewish practices at Jerusalem's Western Wall?

Interview with Rabbi Avraham Shafran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America

Click here for VIDEO


Unholy Matrimony

By Amy Beth Oppenheimer www.newvoices.org March 1, 2010

Amy Beth Oppenheimer, a JHU graduate and past Masa Israel participant, is the director of the newly released film Faces of Israel.

http://www.facesthemovie.com/

True or False?

1. Interfaith marriage of all kinds is illegal in Israel today. A Christian man and a Muslim woman, for example, would not be allowed to wed.

2. Israel only provides state funding to Orthodox religious institutions. In other words, the Reform and Conservative movements are out of institutional luck when seeking government support for their conversion programs.

3. A Conservative rabbi could be arrested for performing a wedding ceremony in Israel today.

The answers are perhaps surprising.


Filming Israeli Marriage

By Beth Zalcman www.newvoices.org March 1, 2010

How Jewish should the State of Israel be? Who gets to determine what “Jewish” means?Faces of Israel,” a documentary by Amy Beth Oppenheimer, frames the state’s Jewish-identity questions around the current debate over Israel’s marriage laws—which the ultra-Orthodox now control.

New Voices reporter Beth Zalcman spoke with Oppenheimer to discuss how the film came about and what the chuppah means for Israel’s future as a Jewish democracy.


Religious Revolution and Counterrevolution in Israel

By Joshua Stanton Opinion www.huffingtonpost.com March 1, 2010

A religious revolution is in progress in Israel.

It will either upend or extend the reach of the ultra-Orthodox religious establishment, which presides over the institutions of marriage, divorce, and conversion in Israel, siphons off public funding for yeshivas, and worst of all has prevented the state from enacting a constitution that could provide significant protections for religious minorities.


Women's rabbinical rights

Jpost.com Editorial www.jpost.com March 1, 2010

At first glance, Orthodoxy’s extreme reaction to Rabbah Hurwitz is difficult to understand, considering the fact that technically, there is no clear halachic prohibition against the ordination of female rabbis.

For instance, at Nishmat, a Jerusalem institute of higher Torah education for women, which is fully accepted in mainstream Orthodox circles, women already serve a quasi-rabbinic position. To avoid arousing the rancor of the men, these women are careful to call themselves halachic advisers (yo’atzot halacha).

But in practice these scholars of Halacha function as rabbis, fielding questions from fellow women involving intimate matters of menstruation, sexual relations and reproduction.


A call for fairness in Kiryat Hayovel

By Peggy Cidor www.jpost.com March 5, 2010

Last week, the tensions between the secular and haredi residents of Kiryat Hayovel reached a new high, but this time the anger was directed at the mayor.

…The secular residents are angry at Barkat because they expected him to take down the eruv (symbolic fence that allows Orthodox Jews to carry objects on Shabbat) posts installed by the new haredi residents, while he instead appointed a committee that set up new posts.


HMO withdraws sponsorship for Shabbat race under Haredi pressure

By Yair Ettinger www.haaretz.com March 7, 2010

The Maccabi health maintenance organization has withdrawn sponsorship from tomorrow's 10-kilometer race in Kfar Sava amid demands by the city's Haredi leaders to reschedule the event to a day other than the Sabbath.

A Maccabi spokesman said the HMO had agreed to the municipality's request months ago to provide funding for the race.

It was only after Maccabi officials realized that the event was taking place on a Saturday that the HMO sought to sponsor another event on a different day "to be involved with events that are within the consensus."


Israel by Israelis, Part I: My Homeland, My Self

http://reformjudaismmag.org Spring 2010

Participants' biographies are available here.

Israeli Reform Jews—some born in Israel, some via aliyah—share their stories about the agony and the ecstasy of living in this still young and struggling Jewish state

What does it mean to you to be a Jew living in the State of Israel?

What does it mean to you to be a Reform Jew living in Israel?

Has Reform Judaism become more accepted among Israelis?

How is the experience of living as a Jew different in Israel than in your former country?

Are there aspects of Jewish life in your former country you wish you had now in Israel, as well as aspects of Jewish life in Israel you wish your former country would emulate?

What do you like most and/or least about living in Israel?


Reforming Reform Judaism in Israel

By Jenny Merkin www.nextbookpress.com March 5, 2010

Dr. David Ellenson, HUC President, at an event sponsored by the Columbia Current, predicted that Reform Judaism would be able to grow in Israel despite stifling political and economic structures.

Specifically, Ellenson predicted that in the next decade, the number of Israeli Reform rabbis will increase from 60 to 130 or more.

“What an Israeli expression is going to require is Israelis who are alive to the culture of what Israeli society is,” Ellenson said: a future brand of Israeli Progressive Judaism will not “progress very far at all” if the movement consists solely of Americans.

However, he acknowledged that many of the Israelis studying at HUC’s campus in Israel were influenced by a trip to the Diaspora, where they gain “a broader sense of what the possibilities are.”


$336,000 to programs run by the major Jewish streams in Israel

By Jacob Berkman http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/ March 5, 2010

The Jewish United Fund in Chicago has allocated $336,000 to programs run by the major Jewish streams in Israel, supporting projects of the Progressive (Reform), Masorti (Conservative) and Modern Orthodox movements, as well as inter- and non-denominational projects.

Most focus on reaching Israeli youth and do not typically qualify for Israeli government support. The grants include:

  • $116,000 to programs run by the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism: Partnership for Pluralism, Olim Outreach and Panim-Pluralistic Beit Midrash.
  • $116,000 to programs run by the Masorti movement in Israel and the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies: Jewish Enrichment at NOAM, NOAM Garinim, Hannaton Education Center, Niggunim music programs in TALI Schools, Developing Parental Leadership -- TALI Schools, Masorti Learning Communities, Masorti Women's Study Days.
  • $74,000 to programs run by the Yaacov Herzog Center and Ohr Torah Stone: Tzahali: Pre-Army Mechina for Women, Youth Building a Better Society-Project Atid and Yachad: Leadership for Jewish Unity
  • $30,000 to inter- and non-denominational programs run by the Shalom Hartman Institute, Meitarim and BINA.


SHATIL Capacity Building Enables Bat Kol to give Voice to Orthodox Lesbian Women in Israel

www.nif.org March 4, 2010

Talya Lev grew up in the U.S. and Germany, made Aliyah to Israel at age 18, served in the Liaison unit of the Israeli Defense Force intelligence, and studied at Bar Ilan University.

During her studies she became more exposed to the religious world and decided to adopt an Orthodox lifestyle.

A few years later she came out to friends and family, and joined the Orthodox lesbian organization Bat Kol, whose goal is to enable women to fulfill both their religious and lesbian identities.


Supreme Court to decide if there is an ‘Israeli nation'

By Dan Izenberg www.jpost.com March 7, 2010

The Supreme Court is due to rule on an appeal by 21 Israelis, Jews and non-Jews, who are demanding that the Interior Ministry register all of them as belonging to the Israeli nation.

“The nationality entry does not appear in Israeli identity cards,” Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch pointed out. “The question is how important the Population Registry is. You are granting it exaggerated importance.”

Justice Uzi Fogelman added: “The question is whether or not the court is the right place to solve this problem.”


Israel as a Jewish State

www.israelstudies.umd.edu March 7-8, 2010

Click here for Conference Program [pdf]

Ever since Theodore Herzl’s time, argument has raged over the meaning of the “Jewish State”. Much of it has focused on the appropriate role of religion in the state’s laws and practices.

With the growth of religiosity in the state and the sharp increase in the number of religious citizens – neither development foreseen by Israel’s founders – the arguments have become fiercer. Different streams of Jewish practice – Haredi, Modern Orthodox, conservative, Reform, and “secular” compete either for recognition or to delegitimize their rivals.

Meanwhile, many citizens define themselves as simply “Israeli” rather than “Jewish”.

This conference will address the provocative themes of the nature and role of democracy, identity and Jewish religion in the Israeli context.

How can Israel balance the competing claims of its Jewish self-definition with a commitment to democratic pluralism?

Moreover, how can it best choose among frequently contradictory religious and social values, a path that all its citizens can live with?


Not just Zionism: Lousy economy pushes more U.S. Jews to move to Israel

By Beth Schwartzapfel, The Forward www.haaretz.com March 2, 2010

With unemployment rates hovering at around 10 percent (more than double what they were two years ago), one ripple effect of America's recession is increased immigration to Israel. It is no panacea.

But unemployment there is hovering at around 8 percent, while the economy overall has contracted less than in the United States and now appears on the way back to growth.

"Israel has proved to be resilient to this particular global shock," the International Monetary Fund noted admiringly in a January report.


The Agency’s New Agenda

Editorial http://forward.com March 3, 2010

The Jewish Agency for Israel is embarking on a bold and necessary attempt to create a new mission for itself, downplaying its historic role in promoting immigration to Israel and emphasizing instead an intriguing but still amorphous notion of Jewish “peoplehood.”


Embattled Jewish Agency to Promote Identity over Aliyah

By Gal Beckerman http://forward.com March 3, 2010

Natan Sharansky knows he’s disturbing the status quo. Days before the most recent meeting of the Board of Governors, the body that oversees the Jewish Agency for Israel, Sharansky, its relatively new chairman, declared that the agency’s traditional mission had outlived its usefulness.


Alan Hoffmann named Jewish Agency director-general

www.ynetnews.com March 3, 2010

Alan Hoffmann, director-general of the Department of Education of the Jewish Agency, has been named director-general of the Jewish Agency by a special committee of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors.

Hoffmann, who made aliyah to Israel from South Africa in 1967, is the first oleh to hold this position.


The Case for Change: A Challenge to the Jewish Agency

By Gil Troy Opinion http://ejewishphilanthropy.com March 7, 2010

To effect change, the leaders of the Jewish Agency, this College of Cardinals of the Jewish people, will need the discipline of the Congress during Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, the fluidity of the British parliament under Thatcher, the courage of Ben Gurion and this very agency on the eve of independence in 1948 and the wisdom of our ancient Sanhedrin.


Future Shock?

By Stewart Ain www.thejewishweek.com March 2, 2010

The study, “2030: Alternative Futures for the Jewish People,” was presented for the first time in Jerusalem on Feb. 17 to members of a visiting delegation from the Conference of Jewish Organizations of Major American Organizations.

It recommends steps to avoid the worst-case scenarios, including increasing the Jewish birthrate, bringing more young Jews to Israel for at least one year, developing new forms of aliyah and, most importantly, attracting the best and brightest to positions of leadership.


One Million Russian Immigrants - The frictions in Israeli society are different today

By Avi Pikar http://acheret.co.il March 4, 2010

The mass immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union has realigned Israeli society.

The large number of immigrants has brought about far-reaching demographic and cultural changes. Avi Pikar analyzes the impact of this massive immigration on Israel's development town


With America conquered, Nefesh B'Nefesh sets sights on U.K.

By Raphael Ahren www.haaretz.com March 5, 2010

Having taken over the process to bring Jewish immigrants from North America to Israel, Nefesh B'Nefesh is now pressing the Jewish Agency for Israel to cede to the private immigration assistance group its aliyah operations in Great Britain.


Nefesh B’Nefesh to stage ‘mega’ events in 8 US cities

By E.B. Solomont www.jpost.com March 7, 2010

Hoping to encourage 5,000 new olim this year, Nefesh B’Nefesh is holding eight “mega” aliya events in cities across North America this week.


8 aliyah fairs to be held in North America

By Shalom Life news staff http://www.shalomlife.com/eng/index.php March 6, 2010

Nefesh B'Nefesh has decided to accelerate and deepen its activities in North America, in order to realize the potential increase in the number of immigrants to Israel during 2010.


Taking from absorption to pay for aliyah

By Raphael Ahren www.haaretz.com March 5, 2010

North American immigrants will no longer be able join the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption's popular Community Absorption program unless they move to Jerusalem, Anglo File has learned.

The move follows a recent cabinet decision to increase government subsidies to private immigration assistance group Nefesh B'Nefesh, part of which is paid for by the ministry's budget. NBN is responsible for bringing North American immigrants to Israel.


Shas Not Budging from WZO Membership

By Yechiel Sever http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com March 4, 2010

Local rabbonim in Eretz Yisroel and the Diaspora have expressed dismay and outrage over Shas' ongoing ties with the World Zionist Organization. At a WZO meeting held last week 20 Shas delegates were appointed to the Zionist Congress.

At the meeting, which was attended by Shas representative Yigal Bibi, a former National Religious Party MK, it was decided that Shas would receive 20 of the 190 delegates chosen according to their political alignments and would be free to choose its representatives to fill the 20 slots.


Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians

By Raphael Ahren www.haaretz.com March 5, 2010

Shocked by growing reports about Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians in Jerusalem's Old City, a group of Anglo residents is now mobilizing against this ugly practice.

Although such incidents reportedly have decreased since a council of Haredi rabbis issued an official condemnation in January in response to the public outcry, Christian and Jewish activists agree the problem is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.


Fervently opposed

By Peggy Cidor www.jpost.com March 5, 2010

One of his fiercest campaigns was that launched against Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which collects donations from evangelicals to help needy Jews in Israel.

The Eda Haredit doesn’t accept outside funding anyway, but that didn’t prevent Shternbuch from declaring that accepting even a shekel from that foundation was no less than “raising a hand against God and His holy Torah.”

The radical haredi sect considers evangelicals to be missionaries and fears that accepting money from the foundation may lead to conversion.


Religion and State in Israel

March 8, 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.

Religion and State in Israel - March 8, 2010 (Section 1)

Religion and State in Israel

March 8, 2010 (Section 1) (see also Section 2)

If you are reading in email or RSS feed, please click here to read ONLINE

Editor – Joel Katz

Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.


Tensions flare over conversion law

By Rebecca Anna Stoil and Gil Hoffman www.jpost.com March 8, 2010

In an attempt to stave off a serious coalition crisis, representatives from Israel Beiteinu, Shas, and United Torah Judaism agreed on Sunday night that the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Monday will discuss the conversion bill but will not vote on it.

The compromise was reached at a late-night meeting brokered by cabinet secretary Tzvi Hauser, after UTJ announced Sunday they would oppose the conversion bill despite a deal reached between Shas and Israel Beiteinu on the matter.

UTJ mocked Shas for supporting the bill, and sources in the party confirmed that they considered the bill to be an issue worthy of creating a coalition crisis.


Lieberman: Conversion bill held up due to rift between UTJ, Shas

By Attila Somfalvi www.ynetnews.com March 8, 2010

Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman addressed during a faction meeting the deadlock in passing the conversion bill.

He said, "It is not related to Torah or halacha, but to the power struggle within United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and fights between Shas and UTJ."

Lieberman explained the rationale behind the main amendment to the bill – expanding the authority of municipal rabbis to approve conversions:

"There is an attempt to regress on the issue of the municipal rabbis. This attitude – of not being able to trust municipal rabbis in the conversion process – is simply heresy."


Care on Conversion

Jpost.com Editorial www.jpost.com March 7, 2010

Whether intended or not, one piece of Israel Beiteinu’s proposed legislation paves the way for intolerable discrimination against converts of all streams – Reform, Conservative or Orthodox – by denying them eligibility for automatic Israeli citizenship.

An amendment to the Citizenship Law introduced in Israel Beiteinu’s new legislation states that anyone who “entered” Israel as a non-Jew (and did not have a father, grandparents or spouse who was Jewish and therefore was not eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return) and converted to Judaism at some later date, whether in Israel or abroad, would not be eligible for automatic citizenship.


MK Rotem: Conversion bill ticket to paradise

By Ronen Medzini www.ynetnews.com March 8, 2010

A harsh exchange of words took place at the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee session on Monday, which addressed the conversion reform bill being spearheaded by Yisrael Beiteinu.

The committee's chairman, MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) expressed his deep conviction in the law's importance: "When I reach the world of truth, after I pass this bill, I will brag about it and will be granted access to paradise. Whoever blocks it – I don't know what he will receive."


Conversion bill crisis threatens coalition

By Yair Ettinger www.haaretz.com March 8, 2010

The bill on conversion would also mean that the procedure could not only take place in the conversion court system headed by Rabbi Haim Druckman, but that potential converts could also approach a municipal rabbi.

The law would also mean that only the president of the High Rabbinic Court could annul a conversion.

Another clause in this bill, which angered Orthodox and as well as Reform Jewish leaders, states that a person who had converted in Israel but had not entered the country under the Law of Return, could not automatically receive citizenship.

United Torah Judaism was up in arms over clauses in the bill that could greatly weaken the influence of ultra-Orthodox rabbis when it comes to conversion.

It has become common for Haredi rabbis to intervene in the conversion process indirectly, mainly when converts came to them requesting services such as registration of marriage or divorce. Haredi rabbis have annulled conversions when they felt a convert was not following an Orthodox way of life.

According to Rotem's bill, the rabbis would lose this power.


Yisrael Beiteinu bill would make conversion insufficient for Israeli citizenship

By Yair Ettinger www.haaretz.com March 7, 2010

Proposed legislation that would broaden the authority of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel on matters of conversion would also alter the Law of Return, distinguishing between that law and the Citizenship Law.

The bill, put forth by MK David Rotem of Yisrael Beiteinu, is the result of negotiations he held with both Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. According to this legislation, conversion - even if done in Israel - will be insufficient basis for requesting Israeli citizenship.

The bill proposes that the Law of Return only be applicable to Jews or their offspring, and not to non-Jews who opted to convert - even if the conversion follows Orthodox procedure in line with state religious courts in Israel.


Israel Beiteinu bills on conversion, civil union up for vote

By Rebecca Anna Stoil www.jpost.com March 7, 2010

According to the coalition agreement signed a year ago, Israel Beiteinu’s legislation on civil union is to be passed in two phases. The first step – for which the agreement set a deadline of one year after the government’s formation – would permit civil union for those Israelis who are identified as “having no religion.”

To do so, the bill sponsored by Rotem must reach the Knesset floor for its final vote by the time the Pessah recess begins on March 17.

The second step seeks a wider solution that would help a far greater number of Israelis, but that stage will be legislated at the earliest during the relatively brief summer session.


Laws to Reform Marriage, Conversion

By Maayana Miskin www.israelnationalnews.com March 5, 2010

The marriage bill will be presented in two stages, with the first stage facing a vote next week. The bill would allow non-Jews who are not affiliated with any other religion to marry in civil ceremonies.

Currently, all Israeli citizens who wish to marry must do so through a representative of a religious faith.

The situation poses a problem for those who are not Jewish according to Jewish law, but who do not identify with any other faith. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, most of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, have no religious affiliation.


Damages for divorce refusal, for men too

By Rivkah Lubitch www.ynetnews.com February 27, 2010

Rivkah Lubitch is a rabbinic pleader who works at the Center for Women's Justice

In a recent precedent-setting verdict, Judge HaCohen determined that a man is entitled to compensation from his wife for ‘get’ (divorce) refusal, irrespective of the proceedings conducted in the rabbinical court.

No doubt this is a very important ruling that will have a significant affect on how parties act on the way to getting divorced: No more "foot-dragging" designed to wear down the other side - husband or wife.

At the same time this important decision was rendered, we at the "Center for Women's Justice" enjoyed a similar success.


'51% believe complaints against Rabbi Elon'

www.ynetnews.com March 8, 2010

A poll commissioned by Ynet and the Yesodot Center for Torah and Democracy reveals that most of the public believes the complainants' version of events and believes that Rabbi Elon did have forbidden sexual contact with them. Most of the public also showed positive sentiments towards the body that handled the affair.

  • Fifty-one percent of the respondents said they very much believe the complaints and suspicions against the rabbi, since Takana is a "very respectable forum".
  • Fifty-one percent of the respondents agree with Takana's conduct…
  • Forty percent recommend setting clear boundaries between a rabbi and his students…


Initiative: Ethics code for rabbis

By Kobi Nahshoni www.ynetnews.com March 4, 2010

Dozens of rabbis and educators convened Wednesday evening at Jerusalem's Begin Center to discuss the Mordechai Elon affair, which has caused a storm within Religious Zionism.

The participants will discuss formulating an "ethical code" that will determine what is allowed and forbidden in rabbinic activities.

The document is aimed at preventing "compromising situations" and facilitating public supervision of rabbis while promoting full transparency of their private and public actions.

The conference was initiated by Religious Zionist organization Tzohar, and will include some 50 rabbis of the organization's advisory committee, who convene periodically to discuss current affairs that relate to the rabbinic world.


The Importance of Process Post the Takana Proclamation

By Professor Joshua Werblowsky M.D. Opinion http://tzedek-tzedek.blogspot.com March 8, 2010

The writer is a clinical psychiatrist living and practicing in Jerusalem.

The consequences of the allegations made by the Takana organization regarding Rabbi Mordechai Elon are still reverberating around the country and abroad, and will be felt for some time to come.

…Following the Elon revelations, many people remain in the denial stage. However, I have not seen any direction taken publicly by leaders of the community post the initial disclosures.


The spirit of the skullcap

By Reuven Pedatzur www.haaretz.com March 3, 2010

Reuven Pedatzur is a lecturer in the political science department of Tel Aviv University.

Book Review: “Masa Kumta: Nivutim Begova Ha'eynayim” (Navigations), by Elazar Stern

It would have made more sense for Elazar Stern to call this memoir of his life and army career "Kippa March" instead of naming it after the "masa kumta"("beret march"), the endurance hike with which combat soldiers complete their basic training, because it is the spirit of the skullcap on his head that hovers over these pages

Stern headed the army's Personnel Directorate until he retired from the Israel Defense Forces in 2008.


Leadel 7 Interview with Bambi Sheleg

http://www.leadel.net/ February 23, 2010

Bambi Sheleg is Editor of Eretz Acheret

Eretz Acheret is an Israeli NGO comprised of people from different sectors of society with a broad range of backgrounds and personal beliefs.

The goal is to provide Israeli and Diaspora Jews with a platform for open discourse and dialogue on all facets of the Israel-Diaspora relationship, as well as the opportunity to express their identity through the written word.


Gafni wins gov't support for free loan 'Gamahim' societies

By Moti Bassok and Zvi Zrahiya www.haaretz.com March 4, 2010

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation yesterday approved a bill to legalize free loan funds, despite the objections of the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Israel.

These funds serve mainly the ultra-orthodox community.

The bill, which was sponsored by Knesset Finance Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), would allow free loan funds to operate without Bank of Israel supervision, even though they essentially function as banks.


Plan for new ultra-Orthodox city in Negev gets thumbs-up

By Ranit Nahum-Halevy www.haaretz.com March 4, 2010

The national planning and building council yesterday approved the establishment of a new city in the northern Negev, Kasif, for the ultra-Orthodox community. Fourteen council members voted in favor and seven opposed the plan for the city, to go up near Arad.

Kasif will cover 1,190 acres and 10,000 homes will be built in the first stage of construction for an expected population of 50,000.


'There will be no Tehran here'

By Yossi Klein www.haaretz.com March 7, 2010

Interview with Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul

Beit Shemesh is the largest city - with a population of about 100,000 - that has a mayor from Shas, the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party.

[A] television report had described a confrontation between secular and religious residents of the city. At the heart of the debate is a secular school that Mayor Moshe Abutbul wants to shut down so he can hand the building over to ultra-Orthodox students.

…He firmly rejects the idea of separation as a way to prevent friction and disputes. This is not Jerusalem, with the Haredim in the north, the secular people in the south and the Arabs in the east. He wants a mixed Beit Shemesh; let secular people come live here, too - why not? He plans to build a hospital and offer fine homes at alluring prices.


Treasury chief: Boosting Arab and Haredi employment would make Israel rich

By Lior Zeno www.haaretz.com March 2, 2010

Israel would be among the world's richest nations if Arabs and ultra-orthodox Jews could be brought into the economy, Israel's top treasury official said on Wednesday.

"If two groups of people were left out of GDP calculations, Israel would rank among the foremost developed countries," Ministry of Finance Director General Haim Shani said. "They are the Arabs and the Haredis."


Agudat Yisrael's Menahem Porush: Man of the worlds

By Tom Segev Opinion www.haaretz.com March 4, 2010

Menachem Porush, who died last week, was one of the most powerful people in the history of Israeli politics, and one of the cleverest - a millionaire, a master of public relations and also a terrific actor: He could turn on the waterworks when he wanted to.

…A financial wizard, he prided himself on his ability to raise donations from philanthropists around the world and managed hundreds of charitable funds, but his community is nonetheless one of the poorest in Israel.

In a new book, journalist Yuval Elizur points out that, contrary to common belief, this is not only a sort of voluntary poverty, stemming from the fact that most Haredi men prefer to study full-time at the public's expense rather than work.

Even those who would like to get a job generally cannot because the ultra-Orthodox educational system fails to give them the necessary skills.

Their political leaders are largely to blame, including Menachem Porush, who was also among those responsible for the great political failure of Agudat Yisrael.


Maariv's Expose of Rabbi Yitzchak Goldknopf, the Powerful Boycott-Maker and Breaker

By Ezra Reichman www.vosizneias.com March 7, 2010

Maariv published an expose of Rabbi Yitzchak Goldknopf, a pivotal Gerrer askan who stands at the head of the Igud HaTatim, the Bais Yaakov Kindergarten network, and the Committee to Observe Shabbos.

See original Hebrew

Not only does Goldknopf, 60 and the father of 10, concentrate immense political power in his hand, but he does so in an aggressive manner that intimidates potential opponents and rivals from Chassidic rebbes to businessman.

As if that wasn't enough, he also has key control of the Chassidic Hamodia daily, the main information channel for a large part of the chareidi community.


Haredim declare war on the Internet

By Jonathan Rosenblum www.jpost.com March 5, 2010

The writer is the director of Jewish Media Resources.

Aware of the devastation caused by the Internet, and determined to prevent it from becoming completely entrenched, the leading haredi rabbis in Israel have declared war on it.

A conference for haredi educators in Bnei Brak two weeks ago, attended by a rare cross-section of the most revered senior rabbinical figures in the haredi world, promulgated several decrees against home Internet use.


Bezeq Announces Kosher Landline Phone Service

By Yechiel Spira www.theyeshivaworld.com March 3, 2010

Officials announce they worked in close cooperation with the Vaad Rabbonim for Communications, which has given its blessing and endorsement for the new kosher landline phone service, which of course blocks all unwanted data.


Israelis savour rise in kosher investments

(FT.com: 30 days allowance of 1 free article. If you wish to view more, you can register for free)

By Tobias Buck www.ft.com March 2, 2010

Along with a handful of fund managers and investment experts, Rabbi Dvir spearheads an Israeli phenomenon known as "kosher investment".

A small but fast-growing niche within asset management, such funds promise to invest only in financial products that conform with the halakhah, the body of Jewish religious law.

This means complying with the traditional ban on interest, but also avoiding companies that violate the Sabbath or offend other Jewish customs.


Shas Amsellem: Light Rail Doesn’t Serve the Chareidi Public

By Yechiel Spira www.theyeshivaworld.com March 3, 2010

Speaking in Knesset last Wednesday, MK Rav Chaim Amsellem of Shas stated the light rail system under construction will not do anything to assist the chareidi community, explaining it does not run in those areas and therefore, it will not provide any relief regarding traffic snarls in chareidi neighborhoods do to vehicular congestion.


Haredim riot in J'lem; none injured

By Efrat Weiss www.ynetnews.com March 7, 2010

Haredim hurled stones at cars and buses driving through the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim on Sunday. They also hurled stones and burned trash cans on Yehezkel Street in the city. No one was injured, but a military vehicle passing through was damaged.

Police barred public transport vehicles from entering the neighborhood. The residents are protesting the arrest of haredim in northern Israel, who were protesting against excavation works in the area.


IDF to Chareidim – Bring a Friend

By Yechiel Spira www.theyeshivaworld.com March 3, 2010

Forty new chareidi recruits joined the ranks of the military in the beginning of January and after a very brief basic training period; they are now being assigned to their units, all part of the specially crafted programs to comply with their lifestyle, permitting adequate for davening, learning and kashrut on a mehadrin standard with appropriate hechsherim.


Rabbinate Considering Banning Pesach Beer Bottle Return

www.israelnationalnews.com February 23, 2010

The Chief Rabbinate is considering prohibiting stores from accepting empty bottles for refund over Passover, because they may have held chametz, leavened beverages such as beer, which are not permissible on Passover.


Rereading the Purim story reveals feminist role models

By Tamar Rotem www.haaretz.com March 3, 2010

Dr. Hagit Gur Ziv, who heads the Center for Critical Pedagogy, is concerned about the way in which the Purim story and holiday stories in general are conveyed to children.

She says that the underlying messages of the traditional stories in reference to women or minorities are problematic, to say the least.


PODCAST: Hearts and Minds

Produced by Daniel Estrin and Julie Subrin www.nextbookpress.com March 8, 2010

The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement is known for its outreach among non-Orthodox Jews, encouraging them to become more religious. Chabadniks are posted to about 75 countries, where their efforts are generally met with curiosity, indifference, or, at worst, irritation.

But in Ramat Aviv, an upscale, liberal, and famously secular neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the sect’s arrival has prompted a much stronger reaction: fury.

Chabad’s presence in Ramat Aviv is growing, and secular residents—who in the fall formed a residents association to oppose the Chabad incursion—are convinced that the Hasidim are trying to brainwash their children and take over the neighborhood.

Now, every Friday, the two camps face off outside schools and in other public spaces, where Chabad representatives approach passersby, mostly kids, and invite them to wrap tefillin and pray.


Lindenstrauss to Investigate School Discrimination

www.israelnationalnews.com March 2, 2010

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss announced Tuesday that he would set up a special panel to investigate charges of discrimination in the Hareidi school system.

He said that reports from officials, including Knesset Education Committee head MK Zevulun Orlev (Bayit Yehudi) indicated that there was ongoing against children from Sephardic backgrounds in Hareidi schools run by Ashkenazic organizations.


UTJ Rejects Charges of Discrimination in Chareidi Schools

By Eliezer Rauchberger http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com March 4, 2010

UTJ representatives in the Knesset rejected on Tuesday claims raised by the Knesset State Control Committee alleging discrimination against Sephardim in the chareidi educational system.

At the conclusion of the meeting [State Comptroller Michal] Lindenstrauss announced that his office was currently looking into the issue of discrimination in the recognized-but-unofficial education system, saying the inquiry would be complete within a few weeks.


Family unable to bury boy, 16, who died in fall from Netanya roof

By Yaniv Kubovich www.haaretz.com March 7, 2010

The family of Sisai Astan, the 16-year-old who fell to his death from a school roof in Netanya on Saturday, has been unable to find a Jewish burial plot for the youth.

Families that are not considered Jewish by Israeli authorities face burial problems. Sisai's father failed his conversion test because he is not fluent in Hebrew, says the family, and as the sole breadwinner, he lacks the time to study.


State to High Court: A Decision Regarding Barzilai within 2 Weeks

By Yechiel Spira www.theyeshivaworld.com March 8, 2010

The State on Wednesday, in its response to the High Court of Justice regarding the construction of the fortified emergency room of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, promised a decision within two weeks.

The state was responding to a petition demanding a response as to why the government is not moving ahead with the fortified unit of the hospital, capable of withstanding rocket attacks. The project enjoys the approval of the nation’s chief rabbis despite the need to exhume bodies and relocate a cemetery.


Growing Controversy between Barzilai Hospital & Minister Litzman

By Yechiel Spira www.theyeshivaworld.com March 3, 2010

The controversy stems from the ruling of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, permitting the exhuming of bodies to permit construction on the site planned, but Gedolei Yisrael Shlita have stated otherwise, resulting in Litzman’s refusal to approve the plan.


Next Step in Efforts to Appoint Rabbi Diskin as Kiryat Ata Chief Rabbi

Source: www.col.org.il http://shmais.com March 1, 2010

Two citizens of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Ata filed a petition with the Supreme Court three weeks ago against the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and Minister Yaakov Margi on the grounds that elections for two Chief Rabbis should be held in the town.

The reason for the petition was to allow Chabad shliach Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Diskin, who has been acting as de facto Chief Rabbi for some time, to be elected to this position in an official capacity.


Bill would crack down on mystics

By Jonathan Lis www.haaretz.com March 4, 2010

Legislation that would outlaw the advertising of services offered by mystics and others dealing with spirits - including those who claim to chase away the devil and the evil eye, as well as fortune-tellers - has been proposed in the Knesset.


The 2nd Conference on the Study of Contemporary Spirituality

http://newmedia-eng.haifa.ac.il March 8, 2010

The 2nd Conference on the Study of Contemporary Spirituality will take place at the University of Haifa on Monday, 8 March, 2010. The conference will host an astounding 32 sessions and dozens of lectures presenting studies that encompass the field of contemporary spiritualism in Israel and around the world.

Click here for the full program in English [pdf]

Hassidism & Neo-Hassidic

Jewish Mysticism at the 21st Century

Female Spirituality in the Jewish World

Praying Communities in Renewed Judaism

New Trends in Israeli-Jewish Identities

  • 1. Israeli Jews – A multi-dimensional conceptualization of religiosity and spirituality Dr. Hagit Hacohen Wolf (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
  • 2. New traditionalists in Israel Mr. Assaf Lebovitz (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
  • 3. Spiritual trends in the Talmud teaching at "Hesder" yeshivas Mr. Shimon Fogel (Ben Gurion University of the Negev)
  • 4. Politics, mysticism and post-Zionism of Rabbi Menachem Froman Mr. Udi Avramovich (Ben Gurion University of the Negev)


Halfway there

By Yocheved Miriam Russo www.jpost.com March 5, 2010

A rehabilitation program for recently released prisoners designed for Orthodox men claims to have an unparalleled success rate.


Hershkowitz: Evolution does not contradict religion

By Kobi Nahshoni www.ynetnews.com March 5, 2010

The Education Ministry's chief scientist made quite a stir when he came out against Darwinism. In response to a question posed by the newspaper B'Sheva, which is slated to be run on Saturday, Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz (Habayit Hayehudi) said that Darwin's theory of evolution, which claims that man evolved from the monkey, must not be discounted.

Minister Hershkowitz was asked whether the Education Ministry's chief scientist's reservations regarding evolution are just cause to oust him from his post.

As a rabbi and a scientist, Hershkowitz responded that there is no contradiction between religious faith and Darwinism and that the chief scientist's position need not be a pretext for his dismissal.


Litzman ignores critics, appoints controversial candidate to head ministry's psychology council

By Dan Even www.haaretz.com March 7, 2010

Despite opposition from psychologists around the country, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman has named Prof. Yoel Elitzur to head the ministry's Council of Psychologists, which is responsible for certifying specialists in the field as well as setting policy for the practice of psychology.


Bill would reward parties that boast more women

By Mazal Mualem www.haaretz.com March 8, 2010

Efforts to increase the number of female Knesset members have frequently been stymied by ultra-Orthodox parties, but a new bill proposed ahead of today's celebration of International Women's Day could change that.

…While women made up just 15 percent of the previous Knesset, parliaments in several other countries established quotas for female representation. They offered parties financial incentives as well as penalties for failure to meet minimums.

But in Israel, the absence of penalties could make the proposal more successful than its predecessors since it might not be thwarted by the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Shas MKs said they would consider refraining from objecting to the law.


Religion and State in Israel

March 8, 2010 (Section 1) (see also Section 2)

Editor – Joel Katz

Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.

All rights reserved.