A terrible lack of regard for democracy, Israelis and world Jewry
Revealing interview with Chief Rabbi David Lau
Chief Rabbi David Lau reminds us once again why the mindset of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is so misguided and objectionable. His manipulative approach is rejected throughout the Jewish diaspora and nowhere throughout the democratic Jewish communities would such “logic” hold water.
Uri Regev 08/09/2015 16:29
Tags: David Lau · Chief Rabbinate
Chief Rabbi David Lau, courtesy: Wikipedia
Today’s (Hebrew) interview with Chief Rabbi David Lau reminds us once again why the mindset of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is so misguided and objectionable. He was asked, “What’s the problem of the State of Israel and the Orthodox establishment with the Reform?” This followed his assertion that the Rabbinate should be the only address for conversions in Israel. His response: “He among them who is born Jewish is surely Jewish, but the question is not ‘who is a Jew?’ but ‘who is authorized to add more Jews to the Jewish people?’ I would want to ensure a ‘safe distance’: he whom the Rabbinate says is Jewish is surely Jewish – this is acceptable to all. If a man converts with a Reform panel, he will not be acceptable here to all, so let’s go with the alternative that everybody will accept.”
You may download the full Hebrew interview with Chief Rabbi Lau by clicking here.
Not surprisingly, this position is typical of similar positions he expressed on other matters such as kashrut, marriage and divorce. When asked, for instance, why should Israelis who marry civilly outside of Israel need to divorce through the Rabbinate, his response was, “When the State was founded, it was decided that marriage and divorce are Jewish matters. This is necessary both as a symbol, and for the next generation. In order to give your granddaughter the opportunity to marry my grandson, we need [central] registration of marriage and divorce. According to Jewish law, once contact has been established between the partners, halakhic divorce is required. Do you want to create two peoples? Five peoples?” When challenged that this is not democratic, he responded, “In a democracy too, children are required to receive vaccinations.”
As a matter of fact, embarrassingly, there are six city chief rabbis who refuse who refuse to register anyone who is converted under the Chief Rabbinate for marriage, and hold them to be gentiles.
Clearly, Rabbi Lau has no understanding of, and possibly no real regard for, the core principles of democracy or what the majority of Israelis and world Jewry think. Further, one should question either his integrity or his knowledge of the Jewish reality in which he operates. Surely he should know that those converted under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate are not accepted as Jews by everyone. As a matter of fact, embarrassingly, there are six city chief rabbis who refuse who refuse to register anyone who is converted under the Chief Rabbinate for marriage, and hold them to be gentiles. Nobody in the ultra-Orthodox community would consider converts of the Chief Rabbinate to be marry-able, and one should not be surprised, knowing that when the late Rabbi Ovadya Yosef dared affirm the legitimacy of the conversions conducted by the IDF under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate, graffiti was sprayed in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Me’ah She’arim: “Ovadya Yosef = Reform.” Moreover, Rabbi Lau’s manipulative approach (namely, ‘since I don’t accept your legitimacy, we should follow my way’) is rejected throughout the Jewish diaspora and nowhere in the democratic Jewish communities would such “logic” hold water. The ability of the Jewish community to interact and thrive is based upon the opposite approach (namely, recognizing the legitimacy and right to operate of all Jewish streams). It’s also significant that Rabbi Lau’s approach to Jewish life is not only antithetical to how the rest of the Jewish world operates, but also to the view of the overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews who resent his paternalism, coercion and holier-than-thou mindset. They do not buy his argument about the slim possibility that his grandson may want to marry the granddaughter of a secular or Reform Jew, and do not view such an obstruct argument as morally justifying the denial of the right to marry of hundreds of thousands of citizens today, and denying millions more the ability to marry in a ceremony that befits their beliefs and lifestyles.
It is understandable that many in the Jewish world may be inclined to treat such symbols of the State of Israel (like the Chief Rabbinate) with respect, but it’s time we look beyond the symbols and realize that Israel, Israelis and the Jewish people need to unequivocally reject such disheartening arguments, coupled with coercion facilitated by Israel’s laws, as they stand in direct contradiction to both Israel’s founding promise for religious freedom and equality, as well as to the basic notions of democracy and civil liberties, as upheld by all other enlightened democracies.