A bill passed into law gives Minister of Religious Services Naftali Bennett and his deputy, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan the authority to dismiss a civil service rabbi who is not doing his job. The law is backed by the organization representing rabbonim in Eretz Yisrael.
The bill was sponsored by Deputy Minister Rabbi Ben-Dahan, and now that it has become law, the ministry may summon a rav for a hearing if he allegedly is not performing his duties as required. The ministry has the right to dismiss him from his post. Prior to this bill, it was virtually impossible to oust a chief rabbi of a city, who was usually appointed for life and was not accountable to anyone.
In addition, the ministry is changing the law that a chief rabbi of a city is elected for a 10-year term, with an eligibility to run for a second term, but the days of a ‘job for life’ are a thing of the past.
Both Bennett and Ben-Dahan praise the new law, for they feel this represents an additional step towards improving religious services for citizens of Israel.
Chief Rabbi David Lau added “Most of the rabbis in Israel are involved in meleches kodesh, they wish to make certain that in the event there are those who are not performing their jobs as they should, they system will protect the rav’s kovod on the one hand, while protecting the rights of citizens on the other. That is why there will be a hearing for any rav accused of failing to perform his duties and this will permit citizens to receive the religious services they are entitled to.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Of course the government can fire civil servants, and especailly those chosen politically. That is how patronage works. Same as in the US. The function of a civil service rabbi is to serve his masters in the government. That’s why frum people have posekim to look to for halachic guidance, not government bureaucrats.
Everyday the individuals who run Israel’s corrupt government, become bigger and bigger self-hating Jews.
#1 Akuperma – you’ve never heard of a Shul in the US opting not to renew the contract of its Rav? Your knee-jerk reaction to attribute negative qualities to the Israeli government is almost humorous – pathetic, but humorous.
The role of a city Rav is to provide certain services to the population of a city – things like Kashrus, marriage, divorce, and burial. If the Rav is not meeting his obligations in these matters, then of course he should be replaced. I fail to see what this has to do with whom one choses to follow as his personal Posek.
an Israeli Yid
Hopefully this will help restoring some trustworthiness to the rabbanut and it’s hasgacha.
#3-In the USA, a shul is run by its baal ha-batim. Yes, shul’s have “politics” – but it is their politics. If a member doesn’t like, he is free to set up his own shul. Indeed, the strength of our community is the autonomy and independence of each unit. The shul picks the rabbi, not someone outside the shul appointing a rabbi and sending him to the shul.
In Israel, the equivalent is run by the government. What would happen in the US if Obama or Cuomo or De Blasio was in charge of picking the rabbis? What happens if you let people such as Netanyahu, Bennett and Lapid decide matters of halacha – since in the final analysis the decision making of state-provided religious services are in the hands of the Kenesset. And as we see everywhere else in the world when the politicians run things, the result will be that loyalty to the political leadership
will come first.
#5 akuperma – In Israel, the government is run by its ba’al habatim. They are the “community” that places its representatives in the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which has oversight of the Rabbanim of a city. The actual choice of city Rav is made by the local Religious Affairs Council, for even more local control. So, yes, the “community” absolutely IS the one that does and should have the right to remove a city Rav who is not doing his job.
Your comparison to the US, where politicians are not the community being served by local Rabbanim, is therefore a false analogy. You, of course, do not need to follow the local Rav, but the ones who are served by the local Rabbanut have, and should have, the right to choose which Rav they want, and to change Rabbanim as they choose.
an Israeli Yid