In an apparent move towards building a right-wing coalition under the Likud’s wing, Shas leader Rav Eli Yishai offered a ‘compromise’ regarding Yisrael Beitenu’s demands to permit civil weddings. Yishai states that Shas can live with an arrangement that addresses those deemed “posul” by the Chief Rabbinate, namely non-Jews, explaining this would permit Yisrael Beitenu to claim a victory, while preserving the integrity of Jewish marriage and permitting the formation of a coalition.
Yishai further states that most of the Jewish People in Eretz Yisrael oppose mixed marriage, stating with certainty that even after another 10 elections, Lieberman’s party will never win enough support to approve civil marriages of Jews in Eretz Yisrael.
Yisrael Beitenu is not rejoicing over the proposed solution, which will however offer a solution to 50,000-70,000 ‘pisulei chitun’ (ineligible for marriage) but on the other hand, has not rejected the offer just yet. MK Stas Misezhnikov, who heads the party’s coalition negotiating team, views the Shas offer as considerable progress but adds he and his colleagues are seeking a solution for 320,000 ‘pisulei chitun’ and therefore, they cannot agree to the Shas offer at present. He does view Shas’ position however as a basis to enter into negotiations.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
It isn’t really an issue worth fighting over. By many opinions, a marriage between non-frum Jews isn’t valid since neither intends to be married according to דעת משה וישראל, and many non-frum Jews don’t see “marriage” as restricting their future relationships, so if one does recognize their marriages, one is stuck having to regard their children as probable ממזרים. Given the virtual impossibility of preventing people (Jewish or not) from living with, and having children, with whomever they choose, the main function of marriage law (for non-frum Jews and goyim) is to settle economic relationships.
The important issue is that a Beis Din has the ability to assist a woman who is married by halacha in getting a גט, and to allow the frum community to handle its own domestic relationship issues internally (rather than attempt to have rabbanim try to figure out the hiloni’s weirdness in such matters).
Better that the frum politicians should focus on supporting yeshivos and economic support for frum families rather than trying to control the private lives of the secular Jews (and goyim), a task that is largely impossible anyways.