A number of Members of Knesset from the Meretz party have petitioned the High Court of Justice against the appointment of Rabbi Eyal Karim as the next IDF Chief Rabbi. Their opposition stems from a number of halachic articles written by the rav including one addressing an ‘Eishes Yifas Toar’, claiming the rabbi permits attacking women in wartime.
During the controversy surrounding the appointment, the head of the military’s Personnel Branch met with Rabbi Karim, and ultimately approved the appointment as did IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott. Rabbi Karim explained the Torah concepts to the senior officers, who understand he was engaged in a Torah discourse and not a practical declaration of current matters.
Nevertheless, Meretz MKs Zahava Gal-On, Michal Rozen and Tamar Zandberg remain determined to torpedo the appointment. In their petition they explain the rabbi suffers from a ‘severe burning hate of women, homophobia and an intolerance to the toeiva community’, with the latter stemming from other statements and writings from the rav, who describes a same-gender union as ‘toeiva’ in line with the Torah’s description. Therefore, the Meretz women feel Rabbi Karim is ill suited to hold such a public position.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
Sorry, you’re not fit to be a Rabbi, because you don’t believe in a persons’ individual freedom to decide what to eat. It says so right here in your book – you refer to a concept called “kosher”.
Sickening