Hiddush News, April-June 2015

Hiddush News, April-June 2015

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Rabbi Riskin’s term extended after Rabbinate had thrown doubt on his continued tenure

Following a month-long uproar amid claims that officials in the Chief Rabbinate were trying to remove Efrat Chief Rabbi Shlomo Riskin from his post due to his moderate views, the Council of the Chief Rabbinate approved his five-year extension on Monday.

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Rabbi Riskin’s term extended after Rabbinate had thrown doubt on his continued tenure

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Jewish Agency to send rabbis abroad to perform conversions

Ambiguities in wording of resolution have elicited both support and adamant opposition from both the more liberal and conservative sides of the religious divide.

Jewish Agency to send rabbis abroad to perform conversions

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Israelis Object to Orthodox-Only Rabbi Rules: Poll

More than two-thirds of Israelis object to the removal of a Conservative rabbi from a bar mitzvah ceremony for disabled children intended to take place at the Israeli president’s residence.

Israelis Object to Orthodox-Only Rabbi Rules: Poll

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Poll: 59% of Israeli Jews want equality for Conservative, Reform rabbis

Survey finds that 71 percent of Israeli Jews disapprove of President Reuven Rivlin’s decision to exclude a Conservative rabbi from a bar mitzvah ceremony for disabled children.

Poll: 59% of Israeli Jews want equality for Conservative, Reform rabbis

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Hiddush Calls on Visitors to Israel to Demand Their Right to be Mechalel Shabbos

Hiddush has published a media release directed at visitors to Israel, hotels and agencies in Israel, calling upon them to exercise their rights and demand to be permitted to be mechalel Shabbos.

Hiddush Calls on Visitors to Israel to Demand Their Right to be Mechalel Shabbos

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Deri Intorduces Bill to Give Preference to Haredim for Gov’t Jobs

The Haredi community is excited about the new bill being promoted by Shas Chairman and Minister of the Economy, Aryeh Deri. As reported in Globes, the bill will require each government ministry to allocate 5% of its available jobs to Haredi candidates.

Deri Intorduces Bill to Give Preference to Haredim for Gov’t Jobs

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Initiative for gender segregated higher education puts universities on the defensive

An initiative for gender-segregated tracks at universities is gaining momentum among the religious Zionist movement, but the academic authorities are vehemently opposed. Will it prevail over their protests?

Initiative for gender segregated higher education puts universities on the defensive

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Israeli army chief of staff plans to curtail powers of IDF rabbinate

Sources say Eisenkot will take rabbis out of education, put Education Corps back in, after rabbinate criticized for attempting to preach religious, political messages to units.

Israeli army chief of staff plans to curtail powers of IDF rabbinate

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Haredi enlistment holding steady indicating 'sincere change' in attitudes to military conscription

Government set targets for the interim years before full implementation is set to take effect for the military enlistment year of June 2014 to June 2015.

Haredi enlistment holding steady indicating 'sincere change' in attitudes to military conscription

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News analysis: Return of Israel's religious parties to gov't may spell social, economic trouble

After two years in the opposition, Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and the United Torah Judaism, managed to secure their spots in the new Israeli government formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month.

News analysis: Return of Israel's religious parties to gov't may spell social, economic trouble

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Israeli ultra-Orthodox media blurs women in govt picture

Two ultra-Orthodox news outlets concealed the faces and bodies of female ministers in pictures of Israel’s new cabinet Thursday, renewing public debate over the practice.

Israeli ultra-Orthodox media blurs women in govt picture

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Former jailbird Dery is Netanyahu's badge of shame and the only dove in the cabinet

The media narrative concerning Shas leader Arye Dery’s return to the cabinet – 22 years after an indictment previously forced him to quit – is that, for the first time, a person jailed for a criminal offense is now a serving Israeli minister.

Former jailbird Dery is Netanyahu's badge of shame and the only dove in the cabinet

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Tough love for Israel: Outrage in Rehovot

A Charedi mayor of an Israeli town decided to cancel a planned bar mitzvah ceremony for four boys with autism because the ceremony would be taking place in a Conservative, rather than an Orthodox, synagogue.

Tough love for Israel: Outrage in Rehovot

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Likud supporters dissatisfied with coalition agreements with haredi party, poll finds

A poll conducted for the Hiddush religious pluralism lobbying group shows Likud voters as displeased with the coalition agreement the party signed with the haredi political party United Torah Judaism.

Likud supporters dissatisfied with coalition agreements with haredi party, poll finds

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Israel Civil Marriage Debate: Rabbinate Control Of Marriage Rejected By Vast Majority Of Secular Israelis

A newly released Hiddush survey revealed 80 percent of secular Israelis do not want to get married through the rabbinate, with most instead preferring civil marriages, the latest evidence of the widening gap between secular Jews and Israel’s state religious establishment.

Israel Civil Marriage Debate: Rabbinate Control Of Marriage Rejected By Vast Majority Of Secular Israelis

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