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Israel’s Chief Rabbinate is a threat to Jewish unity and democracy

Uri Regev 28/03/2018 17:00

Last week, Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, explained a point of ritual by likening a black child born to white parents to a “monkey.” Immediately following the publication of his racist remarks, a storm erupted. It was widely broadcast, including by JTA, Newsweek and the Palestinian media.

Chief rabbi calls black people ‘monkeys’

Uri Regev 21/03/2018 12:59

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef uses pejorative term 'kushi' for African Americans in weekly sermon

What do draft-dodging and the national budget have in common?

Uri Regev 18/03/2018 14:19

The "draft-dodging" bill is being demanded by the ultra-Orthodox political parties, lest they topple the government and force new elections.

Masquerade Ball: Don't comply with the Haredi parties' demands

13/03/2018 10:49

The bill presented to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation is complex and full of words, but it can be boiled down to this: any yeshiva student who does not want to enlist will not be drafted into the IDF

Nearing the point of explosion!

Uri Regev 01/03/2018 20:36

"The storm is rising," I wrote recently. Now, I can definitely say that the situation is nearing the point of explosion! Also, this time, it is clear that the religion-state clash is an integral part of the approaching explosion.

Tzohar enters the kashrut certification market

Uri Regev 01/03/2018 20:24

An important chapter in the ongoing saga of religion and state has been written in Israel this week. In a widely covered press conference, the Zionist Orthodox Tzohar rabbinic organization announced that it is launching a kosher supervising entity that will compete with the Chief Rabbinate and offer the Israeli food industry an alternative supervision more convenient than that of the state.

Most Israelis favor revoking the rabbinical courts' monopoly

Uri Regev 27/02/2018 14:14

69% of the Israeli public supports revoking the monopoly of the rabbinical courts on Jewish personal status matters, supports the establishment of a parallel civil system, and supports alternative, lenient rabbinic courts as a solution to alleviate the phenomenon of agunot

The storm is rising

Uri Regev 15/02/2018 21:52

It seems that matters of ethics and the moral, appropriate behavior of Israel’s political leadership (in which the ancient prophets of Israel showed great interest), don't interest the Haredi parties, nor require taking a stand from the perspective of the leaders of parties that claim to represent authentic Judaism.

A constitutional bill to define Torah study as a form of national service

Uri Regev 01/02/2018 21:28

Today's news sheds light on a new effort by the Haredi parties to permanently avoid requiring their adherents to equally shoulder the burden of national security.

Israeli couples are voting with their feet!

Uri Regev 30/01/2018 21:41

The Ministry of Religious Services has now reported a 4% drop in the number of couples marrying via the Rabbinate from 2016 to 2017. (The decline is really greater, because they ignore the increase in the Jewish population). In Tel Aviv the decline is greater than 15%!!