Jerusalem backs giving rabbi posts to non-Haredim
City: Majority of the Jewish population is non-ultra-Orthodox, a fact that should be considered when picking rabbis.
By Yair Ettinger Tags: Orthodox Jews Jerusalem Israel newsThe struggle for the seats of the Jerusalem's municipal rabbis has long been fought within religious circles - most often between religious Zionists and the ultra-Orthodox.
But yesterday, the Jerusalem municipality announced in a letter to the Supreme Court that traditional and secular Jews should also have a say in the matter.
According to the municipality, two-thirds of the city's Jewish population are "Zionists," or non-ultra-Orthodox Jews, and this fact has to be considered when choosing municipal rabbis.
"The synagogue delegates in the electing assembly must represent all of the public interested in maintaining Jewish religious services in Jerusalem, including tradition-observing seculars, religious Zionists and ultra-Orthodox," the municipality said.
The letter was sent as part of an ongoing appeal by the Ne'emanei Torah Va'avodah Movement to the Supreme Court, which claims the Ministry of Religious Services gave unfair preference to ultra-Orthodox delegates when it appointed the 24-member assembly.
Although the appeal targets both Religious Services Minister Yaakov Margi (Shas) and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, the mayor supports the appeal and is in opposition to Margi.
For this reason, even though Margi decided to cancel the procedure altogether, the Jerusalem municipality asked the Supreme Court to go on deliberating the appeal.
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ever sort that out pakeed? it is disingenuous for a convert of dubious nature to lecture jews on their religion, don't you think? i think so even though i'm a gentile christian.
Last time I included a Hebrew term in haaretz, it came out reversed. This time I entered it reversed and it came out backward again. Apparently, haaretz fixed the old problem. Terms should be חילונים and חל.
The great majority of Israeli-Jewish Shabbat-keepers, including many datlashim, don't deserve to be dissed as םינוליח / secular םינוליח derives ultimately from לח (khol; profane, common, ordinary). Torah requires that we do our utmost to live according to Torah and Halakhah, which is not always identical to the rabbis' often medieval, illogical excesses and micro-domineering rule. Many of those who rightly reject such rabbinic excesses, including many datlashim, are trying to revert to the bare basics while continuing to revere ha-Sheim, who is to judge that they aren't doing their utmost to keep Torah/ (logical) Halakhah?