Thursday, January 30, 2014

Religion and State in Israel - January 30, 2014

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


KOTEL/WESTERN WALL/WOMEN OF THE WALL

Women of the Wall chairwoman Anat Hoffman said in a letter sent to key supporters of the organization that a special government committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mendelblit had agreed to most of the conditions, reported Haaretz, which obtained a copy of the letter.
The letter reportedly said the committee’s recommendations would be submitted to the Cabinet for approval in the coming weeks and that the egalitarian area would be ready in “a year or more,” Haaretz reported.
The site will have a mobile, temporary mechitzah for the monthly prayer services since some of the members are Orthodox and do not pray with men, according to the letter.
The committee also reportedly agreed to allow group members to jointly oversee administration of the egalitarian space, according to Haaretz.


REFORM MOVEMENT IN ISRAEL


RABBINATE AND RABBI AVI WEISS ISSUE
By Rabbi Avi Weiss

 …Israel is a state for all the Jewish people. As such, it should allow for the option of secular as well as religious marriage.
Coercion and religion do not mix. Religious choice would benefit all. When choice is available, religion in general and Orthodoxy in particular will fare better because people will have the freedom to embrace faith willingly. An imposed religion is a disservice to the people and a disservice to religion.






JERUSALEM CHIEF RABBIS



IDF/HAREDI DRAFT/RELIGIOUS WOMEN IN IDF





ALIYAH/ISRAEL-DIASPORA RELATIONS





Hillel Halkin Revisits 'Zionist's Polemic' And Finds He Hasn't Changed



Regarding Israel, he expressed concern that the 90 percent of the Jews in the U.S are not Orthodox feel alienated by a religious establishment in Jerusalem that views their practices as less than authentic.
“I am hopeful that the Chief Rabbinate will be more respectful of all streams of Judaism,” he said.




ISRAEL AS JEWISH AND DEMOCRATIC STATE


see also:


EDUCATION




HAREDI SOCIETY






BEIT SHEMESH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS



RELIGION AND SOCIETY/NETANYAHU'S SON STORY






RELIGION AND SOCIETY













RELIGION AND STATE



SHULAMIT ALONI

By Yossi Sarid

Shula made us face the inherent tension between religion and state, between politics and faith.

Who didn’t gape askance, or wring hands in a sigh, when hearing her demand to separate them?

Yes, protecting the eminence of the state and the honor of religion, it is essential to detach the devout, to sever apart the forces that infect the country with ultra-nationalism and poison religion with zealotry. Leaving the two glued together is a recipe for disaster.


TEMPLE MOUNT


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

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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Religion and State in Israel - Special edition on Shulamit Aloni

Religion and State in Israel

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



By Shimshon Arad February 19, 2009
Book Review: Israel: Democracy or Ethnocracy (In Hebrew) By Shulamit Aloni, Am Oved

Her fundamental complaint is that by insisting on maintaining a "Jewish and democratic" state, we have introduced a built-in conflict. In practice, she claims that we have always treated the Jewish interest as the preferred obligation.

…There is also the case of the Orthodox rabbinate in Israel, whose authority often seems contrary to some basic human rights.


How do we reconcile this with the obligation to observe both the Jewish and democratic rights granted to all?

…Over the years, the Orthodox parties have gained much more power than anticipated. Aloni realizes there is no way to easily reverse the political clock.


Her counsel is clear: Block any attempt to undermine the power and prestige of the High Court of Justice - an objective shared by many other politicians.


By Shulamit Aloni Opinion October 23, 2009

Here we live under religious coercion, there is no civil marriage, and the law forces us to be subject to the Orthodox rabbinate while other streams of Judaism are treated with contempt.

Now they wish to tie us to "the values and symbols" of the Judaism that emanates from the study halls of Shas and the ultra-Orthodox.


By Shulamit Aloni November 5, 2007

The government of Israel, with all due respect, does not represent the Jewish people but rather the citizens of the State of Israel who elected it.


By Shulamit Aloni December 19, 2010

Recently, we have been the victims of the disgrace and envy of various ultra-Orthodox men who have united with their old-fashioned and obsolete rabbis to shame women and keep them away from the words of the Torah.


By Shulamit Aloni Opinion September 12, 2011

Last month, Anat Hoffman of the Reform Movement proposed that I board one of the previously gender-segregated bus lines and examine the attitude to women. These are the bus routes where the High Court of Justice ruled such segregation is illegal and must be annulled.

...This segregation is disgusting. It is a shame that the Egged bus company cooperates with this for some profits. However, the problem is not Egged. After all, Egged is subsidized by the State and must serve the entire public, regardless of ethnicity, creed, religion or gender.


By Shulamit Aloni July 30, 2008

…In other words, there is no barrier to adding a conditional get to every ketuba, which would take effect if the husband disappeared for several years or refused to divorce his wife.

…With regard to conversion as well, our ancestors were incomparably more broad-minded and open-hearted than those holy men who serve nowadays, and who pretend to put individual and public welfare at the top of their priorities.


By Shulamit Aloni September 30, 2008

Nowadays, I feel warmly disposed toward Reform and Conservative Judaism, and when I travel overseas, I attend Reform and Conservative synagogues to hear the liturgy.


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

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Religion and State in Israel - January 23, 2014

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


RABBI AVI WEISS CASE








RABBINATE









Recently certain Haredi Knesset members objected to a bill to add women onto the committee for choosing rabbinical court judges, and one objection was that the Judicial Appointments Committee had no such requirement, said Lavie.
According to Lavie, the Haredi Knesset members said this inequal application of requiring equality showed that the rabbinical courts' bill was proposed merely to harm the rabbinical courts.
Lavie stated that by passing this law, she and other proponents of the rabbinical courts bill had answered their detractors' objection.


ISRAEL-DIASPORA RELATIONS


A staunch proponent of aliyah, he had little understanding of what motivated Jews around the world.


BRIT MILAH/CIRCUMCISION


IDF/HAREDIM AND THE IDF





KASHRUT




HAREDI SOCIETY



A study by TheMarker does, indeed, reveal there to be a housing shortage -- but not for all Israelis. The country’s Haredi and Arab populations lack an adequate number of homes. However, if anything, secular, middle class Israelis have a housing surplus.



RABBI PINTO CASE













ORGAN DONATION
If we want to increase organ donation in Israel we need to listen to the people who are refusing organ donation and ask them why.

The majority of Israelis are secular Israelis – but this is not secularism as understood in other Western countries.

Secular Israelis may not follow halakha during their lifetime, yet often when death intrudes, there is an instinctual 'return' to caring about halakha; many believe Judaism forbids organ donation.


BEIT SHEMESH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS


RELIGION AND SOCIETY

In order to truly bridge the gaps, we must create a fundamental cultural shift from the two sided religious-secular mindset, and stop using categorical terms which no longer reflect our multispectral society




TEMPLE MOUNT/MOUNT OF OLIVES CEMETARY





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