Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked on Monday morning 24 Nissan surprised chareidi lawmakers when she announced she is willing to push aside the appointment of a number of dayanim to the regional batei din which the chareidim find objectionable. However, in return, she wants their backing for the appointment of Dayan Rabbi Oriel Lavie to the Supreme Beis Din.
The Chief Rabbis of Israel in particular Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Shlita object to the appointment of Rabbi Lavie. Rav Yosef accuses Rav Lavie of permitting “אשת איש לעולם”. The chareidim were surprised, prepared to battle against the appointment of Dayanim Rabbi David Bass and Rabbi Binayahu Brenner to regional batei din.
Rav Lavie was at the center of the machlokes surrounding an agunah whose husband was a vegetable. He issued a psak permitting her to remarry. Rav Lavie served as an Av Beis Din in Tzfat and Rav Yosef moved him to serve as an Av Beis Din in Yerushalayim but one of the stipulations was that he does not seek a slot on the Supreme Beis Din for three years. However, Shaked is seeking to have him appointed now.
Without the backing of the chareidim, Shaked cannot move ahead with Rav Lavie’s appointment since this appointment requires support from most of the appointment committee’s members.
When the AM meeting adjourned, the sides did not reach agreement pertaining to Justice Minister Shaked’s proposal.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
Secular Justice Minister has opinions about who is suitable to serve as a dayan on a beis din. But if an avreich in kollel would express his opinion on some legal matter pertaining to the Justice Ministry, cries of protest would be endless.
To American Yerushalmi:
Actually, the shonda is that it takes the Justice Minister to push the candidates who are actually qualified to be dayanim (Rabbis Lavie and Bass) as opposed to the political hacks favored by the poplitical hacks that run the Rabbabnut right now.
I suggest you compare the professionalism, lomdus, and scholarship of Rav Bass and Rav Lavie’s published writings and teshuvos with those of the charedi and Rabbanut hacks who oppose them.
And that is why Rav Yosef et al are afraid of them: They are both brilliant dayanim who won’t cave to their political antics.
If memory serves, the reported psak of harav Lavie received the approbation of harav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg (amongst others).
#1- Azoi? In my experience kollelniks express opinions on every matter under the sun, including legal and political matters. I have yet to hear the cries of protest. As for the learned minister (who is required by law to have opinions on the matter), I believe that she may have a few advisers who know a thing or two about the subject.
#2 – Well said. It is noteworthy that neither of the current Chief Rabbis had any experience as dayanim prior to their recent appointment.
A chiloni woman’s (or a man’s) opinion in Torah matters is “nullified like the dust of the earth.” Even if she is the justice minister.
#4- So what, in your opinion, is the din of the hundreds of charedi dayanim who were appointed by secular Ministers of Justice and by other secular members of the appointment committee?