Minister of Senior Citizen Affairs (Bayit Yehudi) Uri Orbach was interviewed in the weekly BaSheva newspaper. Following are excerpts of the interview in which he explains Bayit Yehudi will not permit the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to run religious affairs since the latter is beholden to chareidim.
Orbach explains “The Rabbanut is by and large chareidi and while we work with it and cooperate, when they impose a veto we cannot work with it”. Orbach explains that for as long as the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is willing to accept Bayit Yehudi’s religious legislation all is fine and good but when the chief rabbis oppose the legislation and warning it will dilute and destroy Yiddishkheit, Orbach feels the agency must be circumvented. In his view, upholding tradition and Halacha as the Chief Rabbinate views them is “chareidi”.
Orbach stands firmly behind the Giyur Bill that will be addressed in the opening of the next Knesset session despite objections from Gedolei Hador Shlita and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, as well as from leading dati leumi poskim shlita.
A member of the liberal religious faction of the party, Orbach feels the bill supported by Deputy Minister of Religious Services Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan is good and “we cannot be dependent on the chief rabbis” he explains. He feels the chief rabbis are beholden to the chareidim and therefore, if left without other options, the party must push ahead with the bill despite the objections of the chief rabbis.
Sending a clear hint to party colleague Yoni Chetboun, who acted according to his beliefs and voted against the draft law, Orbach stated he remains loyal to the party line and that will dictate his future actions.
“While I respect the Rabbinate, we must move ahead and with all due respect to families Yosef and Deri, we cannot set the rules for the religion of the entire State of Israel. However since there are dati leumi rabbonim who feel this way, I am open to compromise” the minister added.
Orbach points out there are many couples that cannot be married in accordance with Halacha and arrangements must be made to accommodate these people to. Hence he feels a need for compromise regarding marriage registration too.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
The state rabbinate is beholden to the kenesset. In fact Israel does not recognize conversions from a non-zionist Beis Din, and rabbinate hecksher is perceived (rightly or wrongly) by many as an owymoron. The job of the rabbinate has always been to keep the frum in line, so it is counterproductive for the zionist establishment to undermine their own agents. The primary effect of undermining the state rabbinate would be to strengthen the non-state rabbanim, who tend to be non-zionist or evenly openly anti-zionist.
The headline says “We Won’t Permit the Rabbinate to Set Religious Standards”. So my question is: Who should set the standards? The plumbers of Israel!
פסחים מ”ט: – גדולה שנאה ששונאין עמי הארץ לתלמיד חכם יותר משנאה ששונאין אומות העולם את ישראל
martycomp says:
April 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm
The headline says “We Won’t Permit the Rabbinate to Set Religious Standards”. So my question is: Who should set the standards? The plumbers of Israel!
no just everybody will follow their rov like in every other country
Further proof at BH has gone against the Torah. First prominent religious zionist Rosh Yeshivas (like the ones at Mercaz HaRav) and rabbanim have said Bayit HaYehudi is going against the Torah, then they punish Cherbon for standing up for Torah and voting the way Daas Torah said he should. Now this, To all relgious zionists who care about hashem and the Torah, you must form a new party and end this anti-torah abomination
“The state rabbinate is beholden to the kenesset. ”
Actually, it isn’t. The Rabbinate is a law unto itself; it can and does ignore both Israeli law and halachah.
“so it is counterproductive for the zionist establishment to undermine their own agents ”
You have been in a cave longer than Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai. There hasn’t been a Zionist Chief Rabbi for over 20 years.
“Who should set the standards?”
Chazal and rishonim set them hundreds of years ago. The Chief Rabbinate thinks that they can ignore them.
#3- Is that why so much animosity, disdain and outright hatred is shown in much of the charedi media (and by many posters on this site) towards D”L talmidei chachamim?
#6 – If they are on the government’s payroll, they are zionists. They may have a frum lifestyle, but their soul has been sold and paid for.
The issues arise when every so often an honest persons takes the job, and forgets that part of deal whereby he sold his soul, and complications that ensue when the devil claims his due.
The whole idea of an official government rabbinate (or church, or any other religious establishment run by the state) is to control religion and keep the religious people in line. The problem arises when the official clergy get too religious, and in Israel’s case, start trying to act like rabbis. One should note that in Israel, the growth in Yiddishkeit over the last 65 years was largely among those who regard the state rabbinate in an unfavorable light. “State religions” tend to minmize religion. Just compare the European protestant countries with their state churches, to America with its vigorous religious life flourishing in spite of the state.