Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana sent letters last week to dozens of Religious Council heads notifying them that their positions will end in four months and will not be extended.
Kahana intends to replace 90 Religious Council heads (out of 130) with his own appointments. He is also changing the requirements for the position to include a bachelor’s degree and a preference for women.
Kahana’s intention is to eliminate council heads affiliated with UTJ and Shas and hire candidates who affiliate with liberal religious values.
UTJ MK Uri Maklev slammed Kahana for his actions, stating: ”Minister Kahana has introduced politicization to the Religious Affairs Ministry. After advancing personal legislation in kashrus reform tainted by economic and personal interests and attributing administrative and economic powers to himself within kashrus bodies in Religious Councils, he is now beginning to meddle in the Religious Councils as well.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
His role will END
Yup, its always outrageous when one political hack calls out another politician for “acting politically”. Truly a shanda since for the past decade, under Likud-UTJ/Augdah/Degel coalitions, there wasn’t a whiff of politics reflected in these Council appointments.
The Satmere Rebbe’s vision was really clear. I was a strong Zionist supporter but now the government is starting a spiritual Holocaust and I have to admit that the Satmere Rebbe was right.
Absurd. Why not let plumbers then practice as doctors and vice versa. I hope this government falls the next 4 months to stop this sacrilege!
Another hack to have in mind when reciting ולמלשינים…
ו….שתעביר ממשלת זדון מן הארץ
this rasha makes the erev rah look religious. Why are the worse anti-semites always Jews?
Docelisheva, huh? What are you talking about? What sacrilege? What makes you imagine the new appointments are less qualified than the existing ones? What qualifications, exactly, does one need to be the head of a religious council? GHT is generally nothing but a left-wing propagandist, but he makes a good point in this thread: The outgoing heads were appointed for their political connections (mostly to the Haredi politicians who’ve been in charge of the Religious Services Department for most of the last few decades) and the new ones will be appointed on the same basis. Naturally the Haredi politicians are complaining, just as the DL politicians complained when their people were displaced by the Haredim.
I would like to meet the woman who wants this position knowing that the previous person was dismissed in this fashion. Nothing good can come out of this. The women should protest. This is not the way. While its true that family connections seem to give certain candidates their edge, I personally know this happens in other fields as well, In NY. In areas that it wouldnt seem necessary. Lets remember Hashem runs the world. Any woman taking that position lacks Yiras Shamayim.
Milhouse, the positions are for the (Jewish)Religious Councils. These positions certainly don’t need a college degree .Torah observance and knowledge are what these positions require in other words, a yeshiva ,not a secular education.
Docelisheva, nobody suggested a college degree is NECESSARY to head a religious council, but it surely helps. In Israel having a degree is an advantage for every government job, so why should this one be different? YOU implied that the new appointees would be LESS qualified than the old ones; how can you justify that? How does NOT having a degree, or being a man, make someone a BETTER administrator?