Hailing the chief

The Israeli Chief Rabbinate that is.


For the last several months, there's been a simmering argument about a proposed bill (by David Rotem MK, Israel Beiteinu, and Chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee) to streamline/reform the conversion process in Israel, by making the Chief Rabbinate the sole legal authority for conducting (and approving) all conversions to Judaism in Israel.

The proposed bill has two distinct shortfalls; (a) enraging world Jewry and widen the Israel-Diaspora gap (which is complicated by the political and financial support for Israel by world Jewry) and (b) the growing disillusion of Israelis (secular and "religious national") towards an increasingly extreme and parochial Chief Rabbinate, i.e. its "haredization."

First, let's deal with the Israel-Diaspora angle. 

Despite the clear concern expressed by the non-Orthodox/Jewish communal leadership during Rotem's 'explanatory tour' to North America a short while ago, earlier this week a bill was issued out the committee for Knesset approval. Diaspora Jewry is deeply upset.  The Jerusalem Post entitled its editorial of Tuesday (13.July) "Alienating the Diaspora" lambasting the proposal, and suggesting that despite passing its first reading, it will not be formally approved (third reading) as a result of promises made by  PM Benjamin Netanayhu and Ruby Rivlin (the Knesset Speaker).


Notwithstanding the "promise", all the major players in the Jewish communal world have been critical of the proposed bill.

Natan Sharansky, Chair of the Jewish Agency and appointed by  PM Netanyahu to lead a dialogue between Israel (Knesset) and world Jewry expressed deep disappointment over the bill passing the committee.

We cannot divide the Jewish people with legislation which many in the Jewish world view as defining them as second-class Jews, ... Jews abroad are the most loyal supporters of Israel, and stand at the forefront of the fight for Israel’s image around the world.

The proposed bill was supposed to have been discussed in detail with world Jewry, ... I hope the prime minister will send a clear message that this proposed legislation will not move forward without proper discussion and consultation with all those who feel they may be harmed by it.

Jerry Silverstein, the CEO of JFNA [the Jewish Federations of North America -- the umbrella organization of the North American Jewish Federations] who also attended the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting expressed his disappointment:

This is very problematic for world Jewry; we don’t need this divisiveness, ... while at the same time stressing that “even though the bill ignores Diaspora Jewry, their support of Israel would not be conditioned on the fate of Rotem’s legislation.

The executive vice president of the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Julie Schoenfeld, referred to it as “destructive.” Reform Movement head Rabbi Eric Yoffie said it was “astonishing, foolish, disruptive.”

Kadima, the opposition party issued its own statement slamming the legislation as having the potential to give haredim a monopoly over conversions, and said the bill would not ease the conversion process in any way.

Rotem on his own part reiterated to The Jerusalem Post that his bill would have no bearing on conversions taking place abroad; rather, he said, it deals with the problems regarding conversion within Israel that can be remedied by allowing city rabbis to conduct conversions.

I am not seeking to alter the procedures of conversion to make it easier, but to expand the options for conversion, without breaking the boundaries of Halakha.

The bill is a revolution that will ease the process and prevent retroactive conversion cancellations

When asked about the understandings that such legislation would only come after a dialogue with all streams of Judaism, led by Sharansky at Netanyahu’s behest, Rotem said 

he had already told Jewish leaders in the US that he wouldn’t let anything hold back his advancement of the legislation. I can’t put off solving the problem of hundreds of thousands of people (in reference to immigrants from the former Soviet Union who are not Jews by Halakha).

Despite the best of intentions of David Rotem (who also happens to be Orthodox) to serve his Russian base, the crafting of the legislation has fallen prey to the haredi components of the government coalition and unless extraordinary measures are taken by the PM and  Knesset Speaker Rivlin to remove the issue from its calendar--something not unprecedented as it's happened in the past including in the late 1980s--irreparable damage will be caused to Israel-Diaspora relations already strained over other political issues (e.g. settlement policy) and social issues (the loss of a common language--literally and figuratively) confronting the relationship.

The "Who Is a Jew" issue has plagued the relationship for ages as an Orthodox controlled Israeli political establishment seeks to confront a non-Orthodox religious establishment/reality outside of Israel. It's a battle that can't be won by either side with any degree of equanimity.

From the internal Israeli perspective, enhancing the powers of an already marginalized Chief Rabbinate, will only further alienate the general--secular and moderate religious--public from the Rabbinate.

Due to political shifts within the Israeli political landscape, principally the erosion (dare I say disappearance) of the NRP [National Religious Party] and its power base in the Knesset (whose voters have shifted their votes and allegiances to right-wing [pro-settlements in the Territories in Gaza (when it was available) and the West Bank/Judea-Samaria)  and the enhanced presence of the haredi parties. Its enhanced presence in the government has facilitated its influence to affect legislation (as well as state funds) to support its causes and supporters.

• It now controls the religious court system allowing it to place "their people" into open judicial positions, which affect in addition to religious issues; e.g. conversions and halakhic issues, also personal status like marriage, divorce and inheritance (which since the days of Ben Gurion was entrusted to the religious court system).
• It controls the process for the election/appointment of community (city and neighborhood) Rabbis as well as the two Chief Rabbis.
• As part of the coalition agreements, funds--prior to the national (regular) budget debate--are earmarked for the haredi educational systems, as well as the perpetuation of the draft deferments for yeshiva students.

The result has been a disaster for modern religious life. The non-orthoprax Israeli public is either offended (because of its treatment of them) or alienated from the Chief Rabbinate and looks elsewhere--if at all--for its religious services. The national religious public, purportedly the focus/target of the Chief Rabbinate feels marginalized. They too, seek to create their own institutions, where possible, for religious/halakhic guidance and services.

It seems that the goal of the haredi world, which never accepted the authority of the Chief Rabbinate, they have their own halakhic decisors,  is to emasculate the institution by placing 'inappropriate' people to serve as the Chief Rabbi (this is particularly the case with the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, the Sefardi one is determined by R' Ovadia Yosef). Thus by alienating the secular population and marginalizing the modern/national religious population they can convince the political establishment to disband the office completely.

If either scenario happens Israel and Jewish life will be diminished. The time is now to make our voices heard for a sane and mutually respectful policies be enshrined into law.