In his ongoing battle to change the religious status quo in Israel, Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana on Monday began his next battle plan, announcing changes in the terms and elections of municipal Rabbanim in order to gradually eliminate all Chareidi Rabbanim.
The plan is crucial for Kahana’s long-term plan to implement far-reaching and sweeping changes in the giyur and kashrus system, as the majority of current municipal Rabbanim refuse to oppose the Rabbanut and/or cooperate with his reforms.
Thirteen municipal Rabbanim will be ousted, nine within the next year, according to his new regulations stipulating that Rabbanim elected before 1974, prior to the regulation that municipal Rabbanim can serve only until the age of 70, must vacate their positions. Rabbanim who find favor in the eyes of Kahana will be appointed instead.
Kahana intends to change the method of electing municipal Rabbanim to ensure that he has complete control over their identities by increasing the number of representatives in the electoral body to ensure that there will be a secular or “dati lite” majority in almost all cities.
His regulations stipulate that “half of the members of the electoral body will be members of the local council.” Members of local councils in the majority of cities are secular. Additionally, he intends to introduce “Rabbinical” representatives as members of the electoral body. His regulations state: “Half of the public representatives will be Rabbanim in Rabbinic positions with public status in local authorities, including neighborhood Rabbanim, community Rabbanim and heads of Torani institutions and/or women serving in halachic positions and women headings Torani institutions.”
Additionally, Kahana reserved a disproportionate amount of power for himself in the makeup of the electoral body, stipulating: “Half of the public representatives will be appointed by the minister after ‘consultation’ with the head of the local authority.”
“Consultation” obviates the need for the mayor or local authority head to consent to the Rav’s appointment. Kahana has already begun wielding his power over mayors as evident by his appointment of a new chairman of the Jerusalem Religious Council opposed by Mayor Moshe Lion.
Another one of Kahana’s plans is to replace 90 religious council heads (out of 130) with his own appointments. He is also changing the requirements for the position to include a bachelor’s degree and a preference for women.
Kahana’s intention is to eliminate council heads affiliated with UTJ and Shas and hire candidates who affiliate with liberal religious values.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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17 Responses
This fool has his gehenom cut out for him. Hopefully he will be swiftly replaced and order will be restored.
טמא טמא יקרא
Yidden survived for several thousand years without a politically administered “Rabbanut” managing kiddushin, shechitah, geirus etc. Time to go back to first principles and let segments of the tzibur set their own standards. Thats the way it works now for hashgacha and to some extent, kiddushin.
Perhaps this is a good thing, if it will mean that Eretz Yisroel will be like everywhere else in the world, where the community Rabbi is someone in sync with the community he’s the Rabbi of.
The EY situation is that communities have Rabbis imposed upon them, these Rabbis (almost always very haredi) having gotten the jobs due to their family and political connections.
The present situation is an appalling Chillul HASHEM.
Maybe now the more modern and more zionistic communities will have more modern and more zionistic Rabbis, just as they do everywhere else in the world.
If the Frum community don’t come together and unite. THEN MARK MY WORD THIS GOVERNMENT WILL FORBID BIRIS MILA, MIKVA FOR WOMEN AND MANDETORY TECHING GAY AND LESBIAN IN ALL SCHOOLS IF THEY WANT GOVERNMENT MONEY.
Separation of religeon and state is important, not only for the state but also for the religion. Becoming involved with the government power has done nothing but prevert religious leaders
Most charedim are anti-Zionist. Why would they work for the Zionist state? Put religious Zionists in those positions!
Where is Naftali in all this ???
For being
חוטא ומחטיא את הרבים
there is no כפרה. Especially in Eretz Yisroel.
For חילול השם ברבים
there is no תשובה, and no כפרה.
This man is destined for personal torment both physical and spiritual in the world and the next. That is his future. Can’t really pray for him.
But can pray to have his moves overturned and have him ousted and devalued into a nobody, like his brutha from anutha mutha, former Mayor Ron Kuby of Teveria.
And MUST pray for all those he leads to sinning out of ignorance, to be led to a path of emess.
he Is a gentile….may as well be a rainbow too…..he is a thief for taking in a Torah scroll lying for women of the wall may their names be erased from our books and start as well with this gentile
This is what the government did in Germany to ensure that the Reform was in control.
I don’t understand what he’s trying to accomplish. We have This exact system in every other state that’s not Jewish. The only reason we have this system is for the religious people as the secular don’t give a hoot about Judaism. So we will have to trust the private system in place instead of the government system. It’s just sad to see that so many so called frum are secular
wes kol Hareschaim jasmit. what a chilul hashem.the main is a little kippah on his head.
1. You can’t dance at two weddings/ If a rav does not believe in the state and the Rabbanut he should refuse a position with it.
2. I object to the word “liberal”. Many Zionist rabbanim are quite machmir. Moreoevr, more machmir is not always better.
Zionism is diametrically opposed to Judaism.
Tzohar and Beit Hillel will no longer be blocked from bringing needed reform to Israel. Baruch she’zachinu le’kach
Matan Kahana is a bad name for anyone, but specifically for someone acting like him.
Just read about the other Matan Kahana in the book of Kings – he was beheaded and his body thrown onto his idolatrous alter.