The Ministerial Legislative Committee postponed addressing a bill co-sponsored by MK R’ Moshe Gafne and R’ Uri Maklev, seeking to expand the authority of the nation’s rabbinical court. The bill was intended to permit citizens to opt to adjudicate matters in either a civil or rabbinical court, as was reported in-depth by YWN-Israel on Monday.

In actuality, what prompted the bill was the Supreme Court ruling of four years ago, in which Justice Ayala Procaccia stated the law does not permit adjudicating civil matters in a rabbinical court, even if both parties agree on the venue, stating in order to do so, a law must be legislated that addresses the legal snag.

A similar bill was previously discussed by Justice Minister Prof. Yaakov Neeman, but it appears that effort was abandoned due to political pressure, HaMevaser reports. Gafne however is not about to walk away from his bill, one that he insists must receive the prime minister’s support as per coalition agreements.

The ministerial committee has pushed off the bill for two weeks due to pressure from the Labor Party. The Labor members of the committee objected to the bill. Yisrael Beitenu is also opposed to the bill.

Responding to their objections, Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Dahan, the director-general of the rabbinical courts, stated the parties opposing the bill simply do not understand the reality of what it entails, or the situation as it existed for the past decades, prior to the Supreme Court ruling four years ago.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)