The Chief Rabbinate Strikes Again

Rabbinical court proceedings to precede issue of marriage licenses

Inter-religious marriage is forbidden in Israel. Jews can marry Jews; Christians can marry Christians; Muslims can marry Muslims. Period. 'Who is a Jew' for the purpose of marriage is a question solely determined by the very narrow world-view of the ultra-Orthodox rabbinate. De facto, over 350,000 upstanding Israeli citizens with clear paternal Jewish heritage have absolutely no legal framework within which to marry in Israel. Why? Simply because their mother is not Jewish. For this reason, approximately 11,000 Israeli citizens travel to Cyprus every year to participate in a marriage ceremony on foreign soil which is thereafter recognized by the Israeli government.

On May 23, 2010, as the ever-increasing battle for true democracy looms over the State of Israel, the Chief Rabbinate issued new, even more rigid guidelines for obtaining marriage licenses. Marriage registrars will now be required to send all applicants for licenses whose parents were not married by a recognized rabbinical body to an examination of their Judaism before a rabbinical court. Depending upon its findings, not only could marriages be prevented, but an individual’s official recognition of Judaism could potentially be revoked.

Even more invasive, the procedure requires the submission of family documents and personal information including the identification numbers and names of all family members. Individuals are required to sign a waiver, giving access to the Rabbinate to all other personal information located in government agencies. The expenses accompanied with the examinations are the responsibility of those undergoing the inquiry.

These new directives will affect hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens whose parents were married in non-Jewish ceremonies or by rabbis unrecognized by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.

The Rabbinate claims that these guidelines were formulated to better manage procedures at various marriage registrars. However, these regulations will only give more power into the hands of the Chief Rabbinical Council. This simply grants the Rabbinate further authority in these matters and will reinforce ultra-orthodox standards in determining an individual’s Jewishness.

Social Action

In response, various Jewish sects and organizations within Israel were outraged with the new directives and quickly took action to thwart its implementation on grounds that decisions and procedures on matters of marriage must first be approved by the Justice Minister and Knesset Law Committee.

In a Jerusalem Post article on May 26, Yizhar Hess, executive director of the Masorti (conservative) movement in Israel, said, “The new directives prove yet again how irrelevant the Chief Rabbinate has become. From an admirable institution that went hand in hand with the Zionist establishment it became an ignoble institution that in the name of baseless halachic pedantry, is harming the fragile fabric of the Israeli society. For the best of Israel and the Jewish people, the rabbinate should be dismantled and religious services in Israel should be privatized. It is inconceivable that the State of Israel is the only place in the Western world where Jews have no freedom of religion.”

Advancing Democracy

In light of Israel’s current international PR crisis and growing ostracism, the struggle for true democracy within the nation is dire and must continually be advanced. Separation of religion and state and basic civil rights are core tenets of democracy. We at JIJ are committed to advocating for the privatization of religious services and for overall religious tolerance and freedom in the State of Israel. JIJ has currently launched several projects, including the ‘Civil Marriage’ and ‘Know Your Rights’ projects that will help further democracy and advance freedom. We believe in the basic right of any single woman to marry any single man in Israel (and vice versa) regardless of religious affiliation. With the Rabbinate trying to tighten its grip on marriage in Israel, the ‘Civil Marriage’ project is even more vital as it seeks to raise awareness through media projects and works to pass a civil marriage bill in the Knesset.

Chief Rabbinate issued new, rigid guidelines for obtaining marriage licenses.

Marriage ceremonies in Israel may only be officiated by the rabbinate.

 These new directives will affect hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens whose parents were married in non-Jewish ceremonies.