During a meeting that was held on Tuesday 14 Elul including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, Bennett signaled he will support the Giyur Bill sponsored by MK Elazar Stern when the cabinet votes on it Sunday, 19 Elul. This represented the last major hurdle for the bill as far as Stern is concerned. It remains to be seen if the Tekuma faction of Bayit Yehudi will vote for the bill since their rav, Rabbi Dov Lior Shlita is among the strong opponents to the legislation.
The version of the bill that will be passed by the cabinet calls for establishing giyur centers around the country. The centers will be competitive and the proponents of the law are pleased for they feel this will push rabbonim to be more accommodating in the hope of signing up giyur candidates.
Civil service rabbonim serving as rabbis of cities will all be permitted to sign off on conversions, which in the past was limited to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. The fear is that rabbonim who are more liberal in their interpretation of halacha will be permitted to declare someone Jewish who might be viewed as problematic by other rabbonim.
For Stern and Livni the backing received from Bennett represents a major success and they are confident the government on Sunday will approve the bill.
The Chief Rabbis of Israel on the other hand have sent an urgent letter to the prime minister requesting an immediate meeting. They are asking Mr. Netanyahu not to present the bill for a cabinet vote on Sunday but to block the bill from advancing, citing the risks involved with passing such a bill into law.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Yagel Libi says:
September 10, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Oh, and the new constitution of Habayit Hayehudi was approved today by a walloping 90% of the party’s members.
Yagel Libi &co.
And you’re again delighted that Judaism is being destroyed and trampled underfoot?
Go join a different nation
Compare these two posts ,and consider who was tragically naive:
Tekuma Party’s Rabbonim Backing Bennett
(Sunday, March 3rd, 2013)
As the leader of the dati leumi Bayit Yehudi Party finds himself under attack, accused by Likud/Beitenu and others of preventing the formation of a coalition, rabbonim are standing by his side.
Rabbonim affiliated with the Tekuma faction sent a letter of support to MK Uri Ariel and Natan Natanson, with the latter being a long-time affiliate of the NRP and heavily involved in coalition negotiations.
The letter signed by HaGaon HaRav Dov Lior Shlita and Rabbis Chaim Steiner, David Chai HaKohen and Issr Kolonsky says “In light of updates that we received from you and in light of the media hysteria, we strengthen your hand and the way you have chosen towards protecting the World of Torah and the settlement of Eretz Yisrael in cooperation with Yair Lapid and the Yesh Atid Party.”
Rav Levanon: The Government Has No Right to Exist
(Friday, March 14th, 2014)
Shomron Chief Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Elyakim Levanon Shlita attacked the government, stating “it does not have a right to exist. The rav made his remarks during a kenos of senior dati leumi community rabbonim on Thursday, 11 Adar II in Bayit Vegan Yerushalayim. The rabbonim discussed matters of religion and the State of Israel.
The kenos was opened by HaGaon HaRav Dov Lior Shlita, who called on MKs not to cooperate and to fight against the newly amended bills. He added “We are witness to rocket attacks that include laws that are more inclined to impair the status of the Rabbanut and the religious character of the state”.
Rosh Yeshivat Har HaMor HaGaon HaRav Mordechai Sternberg Shlita spoke harshly against the legislation in Knesset. “There is a Torah in Israel and there is a Rabbanut. There cannot be any other religious legislation under any circumstances. The Ministry of Religious Services is subordinate to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and not the other way around. One does not consult with rabbis but one asks [what to do].”
Rav Levanon decided to address the giyur bill. “The party capable of passing the giyur bull into law has no right to exist and the Bayit Yehudi Party must leave the coalition. I the interim, we must awaken and fight to apply the brakes to stop these civil laws and to push the Knesset to sop the processes. I call to stop these draconian civil laws.”..
Rabbi Efrati added “The laws are a symptom and the root of the problem is religious identity. There are those who do not view the Torah as the source for our lives and culture. Therefore, the same problematic laws are consistent with their worldview”.
Compare these two posts ,and consider how tragicallly naive so many were
And he claims: “The Torah world is important to me and the nation” when he is trying to destroy both the Torah and the Nation!
They established a committee to appoint dayanim that would be composed of members of the secular judiciary and attorneys.(women, as well)
Those who love the Torah must unite and take the offensive..if secular judges can have a say in the appointment of dayanim,then equal numbers of dayanim should have a say in the appointment of members of the secular courts, including the Supreme Court. Aren’t they just as “expert” as these secular are supposedly in matters of halacha?
Let’s see how long these guys with all their laws that contradict the basic rules(not a Constitution, but similar) that the State was founded on, will last when there are judges who actually show some respect for the traditions that give us a right to declare Israel as our home.
This law could easily be discarded because it contradicts those rules that all the parties agreed upon at the State’s founding.
Bayit Yehudi’s days are numbered, except as a slightly right of center nationalistic party…if that is what “national religious” has come to represent, then it’s time for people who really love the Torah and HaAretz to gather under a new banner with Tekuma and Ben-Ari and company. Perhaps the Shas and UTJ could make some arrangement with them similar to what Likud and Israel Beitienu did in the last election.
Needed are large, united faction that puts the Torah first.