On July 24, a voting body made up of 150 rabbis, politicians and community
leaders will decide who will be the next Sephardi and Ashkenazi chief rabbis of
Israel. At the center of this public and political debate is the burning
question of which two men will be filling these highlycoveted seats. But there
are more and more voices, some of them coming from the national-religious
(modern Orthodox) community in Israel, that make a bolder claim: There is no
sensible reason that the Chief Rabbinate should continue to exist as a
state-power-wielding institution in the Jewish and democratic State of
Israel.
In contrast to the notion that the Chief Rabbinate is essential
to defining Israel as a Jewish state, this outdated and coercive institution
damages the reputation of Judaism and subverts the rule of law. Only last week,
the Global Corruption Barometer published its annual study, demonstrating that
the Israeli public believes that the religious institutions (and political
parties) are the most corrupt bodies in the country. This global study shows
that, in the rest of the world, religious institutions are [on average] the most
respected by their populations.
This week, a leading polling firm
published a study showing that 67 percent of the Jewish public opposes the
continued existence of the Chief Rabbinate in its current form. It also reported
that most Israelis maintain that the Chief Rabbinate alienates Israeli Jews from
their Jewish heritage. Israel’s secular political leaders, having given the
office over to the ultra- Orthodox politicians, perpetuate the powers given to
the rabbinate by the state. The current elections for chief rabbis manifest the
extent to which political horse-trading and behind-the-scenes deals play in
determining the unholy future of the chief rabbinate; a drama almost reminiscent
of an episode of Game of Thrones.
Throughout the lengthy campaigning for
the Chief Rabbinate elections, the irony of the whole story sticks out like a
sore thumb: The Chief Rabbinate is a completely foreign institution to Jewish
history and tradition. It was created by the non-Jewish Ottoman Empire and
continued through the British Mandate, not to strengthen Judaism in Palestine,
but to meet the needs of these rulers.
Every year Hiddush publishes the
Religion and State Index which repeatedly demonstrates that a decisive majority
of the Jewish population in Israel supports the implementation of Israel’s
Declaration of Independence’s promise to guarantee freedom of religion and
conscience to all of its citizens.
Despite the public’s will, secular
politicians have surrendered the control over marriage, conversion, kashrut and
other critical areas of religious and everyday life to the religious
“establishment” in Israel.
The Chief Rabbinate blatantly contradicts the
founding values of the State of Israel. Many state-funded and -empowered rabbis
do not recognize the legitimacy of Israel’s civil laws and judiciary. The
outgoing Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, for instance, explicitly wrote that
the state’s laws and courts are considered “gentile.” He stated that Israel
should be ruled by the laws of the Torah, and that continuation of the existence
of civil courts and laws represents the “Sitra Achra” (an Aramaic term for
Satan).
In the elections for the new chief rabbis, there are many
proponents calling for a moderate figure. Many have claimed that if Rabbi David
Stav (a modern-Orthodox rabbi and chair of the Tzohar Rabbinic Organization) is
elected Ashkenazi chief rabbi, the anachronistic religious establishment will
become progressive and relevant. There is no doubt that Rabbi Stav’s smile is
friendlier than his competitors’, but just like his ultra-Orthodox colleagues,
Rabbi Stav vehemently opposes civil and non-Orthodox marriages and supports the
concept of a coercive and monopolistic Chief Rabbinate. He has also attacked the
Supreme Court for ruling that Israel must recognize non- Orthodox
conversions.
While declaring a war on the bureaucracy in rendering
rabbinic services, Rabbi Stav comes to the table empty-handed when it comes to
providing answers for the 350,000 immigrants who have Jewish roots, but are not
halachically Jewish and, therefore, according to current Israeli law cannot
marry in Israel. Like his opponents, he would bar two-thirds of the next
generation of American Jews from marrying in Israel because they are “not Jewish
enough.” He has no intention to change the current situation for Israeli Jewish
couples that wish to divorce and must go through the rabbinic courts regardless
of how or where they married.
These are some of the serious and damaging
issues that Israel has to deal with in the field of religion and state. Smiles
will not solve these problems.
The role of a rabbi in Jewish tradition
must not be understated.
Today there are thousands of rabbis all over the
world who serve as a great source of inspirational leadership and influence in
their respective communities. But these rabbis have merited the respect and
honor from their communities without serving as a state-appointed “chief rabbi.”
However, those who hold such titles are often considered irrelevant for a
majority of their communities.
The answer is simple: Israel must stop
giving rabbis, any rabbis [haredi, modern Orthodox or non- Orthodox],
monopolistic or coercive authority. A rabbi’s authority and respect must come
from the community that has chosen to accept him or her as their spiritual
leader. I am by no means suggesting that Israel adopt the American model of
complete separation of religion and state; Israel should be able to provide
financial support for religious services in the same manner that cultural
initiatives and sports are subsidized. But rabbis’ authority must come from
their own voluntary communities and not be imposed by the
state.
Subsidies and grants for religious services must be based on
objective criteria and the country’s economic ability, similar to the guidelines
that apply to other recipients of government assistance, not on political
horse-trading.
Anyone who is worried about the possibility that Judaism
wouldn’t be able to survive without “chief rabbis” should take a look at
Jerusalem.
For the past 10 years, there has been not been a chief
municipal rabbi in Israel’s capital and no one seems to notice the
absence.
Israel is in desperate need of independent and visionary
rabbinic leadership to provide Jewish inspiration, not edicts, to advocate for
peace and Tikkun Olam, and serve as role models. We need rabbis who are driven
by the biblical commandment, “Justice, Justice shall you pursue,” who
internalize the meaning of a Jewish and democratic state, and are willing to
celebrate its promise for religious freedom and equality, not undermine
it.
Israel needs rabbis who are gifted with the halachic bravery to find
creative, compassionate, solutions that are relevant for the challenges the
Jewish people face today. This was the virtue of the great rabbis of old. Today,
we are witnessing too many rabbinic leaders who have surrendered to the
extremists. They either believe that any sort of Jewish innovation is forbidden
or don’t dare to openly declare innovative solutions in the face of the growing
rigidity and fundamentalism of the religious establishment.
Israel’s
rabbis must bear a deep understanding of the needs of a diversified, pluralistic
and often secular Jewish people. Our religious leaders must understand that
realizing the Declaration of Independence’s promise for freedom of religious and
conscience will only strengthen Jewish identity of individuals and society, as
well as enhance the democratic character of the state. It will heal and
intensify the Jewish state’s connection to the diverse myriads of Jewish
communities around world.
This compelling vision for the future of
Israeli rabbinic leadership is in direct contradiction to the misguided notion
that we need state-appointed chief rabbis. Retiring the Chief Rabbinate will
allow a new generation of rabbinic leadership relevant for 21st-century Israel
to blossom and will restore the proper honor to the rabbinate and ensure a
brighter future of Israeli Judaism and our solidarity with the rest of the
Jewish People.
Rabbi Uri Regev, Esq., heads Hiddush – Freedom of Religion
for Israel, an educational and advocacy for religious freedom and equality.