State Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein is now targeting dayanim, specifically those who issue a מכתב סירוב (letter of refusal) that carries sanctions against a person unwilling to appear before a beis din, opting to take the case to a civil court. The siruv may carry a number of sanctions, including defamation of the recipient’s character, placing him in cheirim, or other measures. Weinstein says that such action taken against one adjudicating a case in the civil courts may constitute a crime, including interference in a legal proceeding or even more serious charges such as threats and extortion. Weinstein speaks of the “violation of one’s fundamental basic rights by such a letter as well as their impact.”
The attorney general’s new directive is intended primarily for private batei din, not those affiliated with the Chief Rabbinate system. The directive speaks of “how to deal with such sensitive issues while safeguarding tradition.”
A determination will have to be made in each case if an investigation or criminal prosecution is warranted. Because of the sensitivity of the matter, the determination will not be made by anyone other than the assistant attorney general.
Weinstein adds there may also be steps taken towards disciplinary action whether it is a private or state rabbinical court. Based on the evaluation of a case, the attorney general’s office may recommend delaying or disqualifying support for the institution involved. This will be at the total discretion of the attorney general’s office.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
In short – time to uproot Yiddishkeit.
All the ‘Share the burden’ sympothetics, wake up and smell the coffee…
In other words, he wants to make it illegal for a non-government (i.e. Hareidi) Beis Din to function at all. This sounds quite oppressive.
On the other hand it is consistent. And on the bright side, when they start throwing the dayanim in prison, they can give shiurim to the yeshiva boys who are being thrown into prison for refusing to serve in the army.
Watch!
This is a case study exemplar.
Everyone here should be unanimously defending the perogatives of the dayanim against usurpation of the Atty. General.
(Yet notwithstanding their most pious diatribes the modox/srugim will figure out somehow to convince the readers that the state is always right.)
Lamentably, it is not only in the USA, that the status of Botei-Din is in shambles, but even in Israel.
In short, they sadly conduct themselves as Kangaroo courts.
But even if someone receives a Hazmono from a private Beth-Din, one would have a Halachic right to move the case to the Chief Rabbinate Beth-Din, which YWN states is not being targeted by the Israel State Attorney.
I have seen the text of the Attorney General’s statement and it makes clear that he considers kisvei siruv from Rabbanut botei din more serious than from private botei din. The reason it “is intended primarily for private batei din”, is because the supreme court has already given a psak forbidding kisvei siruv by government botei din (which he quotes in his directive).