Thursday, January 9, 2014

Religion and State in Israel - January 9, 2014

Religion and State in Israel

Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.


RABBINATE AND RABBI AVI WEISS

Rabbi Weiss' iconoclasm has given other Orthodox leaders plenty of headaches, but perhaps his unwillingness to play along with an intolerable status quo is exactly what we need, given the stakes involved.

Despite not seeing eye-to-eye with him, the council’s Executive Vice President, Rabbi Mark Dratch, has acknowledged that Rabbi Weiss is “person of integrity” and “a person who is committed to halachah.”

The issue is Rabbi Weiss' refusal to be a spectator to the scandal of the rabbinate, a scandal that threatens Israeli-Diaspora relations and the unity of the Jewish People.

The real embarrassment, though, is that the RCA cherishes a relationship with a religious body that has veered from its sacred mission, choosing to detach itself from, rather than embrace, the majority of the Jewish people.


I am asking Avi Weiss and the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis of America to continue their activities in Israel. Don’t sit idly by. Be vocal about your criticism of the Chief Rabbinate.

We all know that their actions are rotten to the core but none of us are doing anything about it. The Chief Rabbinate, in its current constellation, has never been more detached from reality and the people over which it governs. It has succeeded in transforming the title of rabbi into an abominable joke as it continues to search for new stringencies, promulgating a feeling of alienation towards the beautiful teachings of Judaism. The majority of the secular community has given up on this struggle and now many of the modern Orthodox community are following suit.


If you don’t mind, I have a bit of advice. Don’t spend your time, energy and political capital trying to get back in to an institution that doesn’t wan’t you as a member. 

The Chief Rabbinate isn’t corrupt because it has dissed Rabbi Weiss. The Chief Rabbinate is corrupt because rabbis should not be instruments of the state. You won’t fix it by granting specific rabbis (likely) tentative reprieves. And you won’t stay insiders for long.
























NON-ORTHODOX MOVEMENTS





CHIEF RABBINATE/RABBINICAL COUNCILS/MUNICIPAL-CITY RABBIS






AGUNOT/MARRIAGE



EDUCATION/CORE CURRICULUM





GENDER-SEGREGATION



CONVERSION
Knesset committee hearing on bill designed to increase number of rabbinical courts able to conduct conversions.


BRIT MILAH/CIRCUMCISION


KASHRUT



ABORTION



HAREDI SOCIETY



KOTEL/WESTERN WALL/WOMEN OF THE WALL


IDF/ IDF AND HAREDIM






RELIGION AND STATE




RELIGION AND SOCIETY





SHAS


SHMITA


WOMEN AND JUDAISM


ALIYAH/ISRAEL-DIASPORA RELATIONS






ZIONISM


VATICAN-ISRAEL RELATIONS


ISLAM/MUSLIMS


TEMPLE MOUNT


Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.