Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Religion and State in Israel - April 16, 2012 (Section 2)

Religion and State in Israel

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


By Ilan Lior www.haaretz.com April 12, 2012

A female audience member who was invited to participate in a circus performance in Modi'in on Sunday was removed from the stage after a religiously observant viewer complained.

Rafi Vitis, an acrobat and host of "The Shambuki Show," at the city's Anabe Park, consented to the request of an ultra-Orthodox woman who found the participation of women offensive. 

He invited a male volunteer to replace the teenage girl, but was forced to suspend the show for a few minutes because other members of the hundreds-strong audience objected to the switch.


By Ilana Curiel www.ynetnews.com April 11, 2012

The fourth day of the holiday drew large numbers of travelers out of their homes, but those who chose to visit the Beersheba zoo found closed gates. 

The zoo was open for the haredi public only, visitors argued, without any prior notice. 

A small sign on the zoo's gate confirmed the allegations, while the zoo's management insists that entrance to the zoo was not limited.


By Emilie Grunzweig www.haaretz.com April 11, 2012

The chairman of the Second Television and Radio Authority Tuesday rejected criticism of a vote by the authority's council to reduce the number of hours that women are on the air on ultra-Orthodox radio station Kol Barama.

According to the decision made two weeks ago, every week the station will have women on the air for four hours, rather than the six hours of a previous agreement.

[The authority's chairman, Ilan Avishar] added that "the gaps are not that great. To raise such a hue and a cry over four hours instead of six, when those four hours are significant in terms of women's presence, seems petty to me."


www.jpost.com April 9, 2012

During a subsequent investigation, the youths identified the two haredi men who allegedly paid them NIS 25 per hour to publicly call for segregation. Police arrested the two additional suspects.


By Elana Sztokman http://blogs.forward.com April 10, 2012

Yet none of this has anything to do with “modesty,” or even about Jewish law. 

Forbidding women’s use of cellphones or girls’ use of Facebook is not about religiousness or Torah. 

These are rules made by men who believe that women’s silence and invisibility will make their lives somehow easier or better.


By Oz Rosenberg www.haaretz.com April 11, 2012

Lawyers representing the CEO of the website, “Behadrei Haredim,” accused the police of starting an investigation and filing charges as a result of the website’s attacks against Jerusalem district police commander, Nisso Shaham, and his predecessor, Aryeh Amit.

The lawyers claim that recent police actions are in response to pictures posted of Shaham wearing an SS uniform.


By Tali Farkash www.ynetnews.com April 12, 2012

As it turns out, this platform was nothing but a cheap British tabloid in its haredi version. A platform contingent on "pay and you'll be protected – don't pay and you can bid farewell to your public life as you know it."

...So Hadrei Haredim, as it seems, was unable to free itself from the tribal behavior patterns of the haredi sector after all. Unfortunately for those who were extorted, they belonged to the opposite camp, and therefore were regarded as fair game. The "protection money" and "exemptions" made it all criminal.


By Mordechai I. Twersky www.haaretz.com April 12, 2012

A court on Wednesday extended the remand of a senior executive at a Jerusalem-based charity who was arrested this week on suspicion of stealing tens of millions of shekels from international donors.

The official, who is linked to the Hazon Yeshaya Humanitarian Network, did not attend the hearing at the Rishon Letzion Magistrate's Court. 

He remains under observation at a central Israeli hospital after he reportedly complained of "chest pains" during Sunday's arrest, according to court documents.


By Joanna Paraszczuk www.jpost.com April 12, 2012

On Sunday, police announced that they suspected the charity of cheating donors out of the funds after making them believe the money would be used for purchasing food for the needy, when in fact the money was used to purchase food that was sold to buyers in the haredi community.


By Avi Bentov www.ynetnews.com April 13, 2012

With some 10,000 couples marrying every year the world of haredi matchmaking has become a major industry.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) there are 135,000 households that see themselves as part of the haredi sector, and with an average of six members in each haredi family, roughly one million people belong to the haredi sector in society.

This means that nearly every haredi family has a family member undergoing the matchmaking process at any given time.


By Florit Shoihet www.idf.il April 4, 2012

During the week of Passover, not only soldiers honor the Jewish holiday by eating kosher for Passover foods, but also IDF animals stationed at the various units. 

The food, composed mostly of corn and starches, does not contain wheat in accordance with all Military Rabbinate criteria for kosher for Passover foods. 

Its nutritional value is specifically accommodated to the animals' needs and does not in any way affect their health or activity.


By Nathan Jeffay http://forward.com April 12, 2012

Mimouna has become a major event on the Israeli calendar. At one time drawing only a few hundred participants, today a central celebration in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park draws about 100,000 people, usually including the president and prime minister.

Across the country, Moroccans and Israelis of all ethnic backgrounds flock to smaller public and private celebrations. 

A special law even requires bosses to grant employees unpaid leave on the day of Mimouna if they want to carry on celebrations from the previous evening.


By Guy Lieberman www.ynetnews.com April 17, 2012

"Final Resting Place," a joint venture by the Health Ministry and the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, which aims to entomb 8,288 organs and tissue samples removed from deceased during autopsies, was officially launched on Sunday.

Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, who heads ZAKA (Disaster Victim Identification) also voiced his objection to the project, saying that Judaism mandates that each and every part of a deceased's remains, no matter how minute, be buried.

However, Rabbi Yaakov Rosa, who works with the Forensic Institute, said several rabbis have endorsed the project.


By Itamar Marilus www.ynetnews.com April 15, 2012

Barak Tamir, a religious IDF officer, recently discovered that he might soon need to look for a 'kosher' stamp on his clothes and not just his food. 

Tamir, who purchased a T-Shirt from Israeli fashion brand Castro, found out after the fact that his shirt included a reprint of The Lord's Prayer, a well known Christian prayer.




By Moti Bassok www.haaretz.com April 16, 2012

One of the Abuhatzeira family rabbis owes the government NIS 9.5 million in taxes, according to the Israel Tax Authority.

The authority claims that Rabbi Yekutiel Abuhatzeira, a descendent of a distinguished rabbinic dynasty and a son of the Baba Sali, did not pay taxes on religious services he provided between 2003 and 2009.


By Gad Lior www.ynetnews.com April 16, 2012

According to the IRS, the rabbi owes NIS 10 million in back taxes. Authorities uncovered the debt as part of an ongoing investigation into several prominent rabbis and spiritual leader, for alleged tax evasion.


www.jpost.com April 16, 2012

The Chief Rabbinate decided Monday that celebrations for Jerusalem Day, scheduled to take place next month, will be postponed one day, from Saturday night to Sunday.


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