Search This Blog

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Separation of Church and State in Israel

Firstly, I'm still getting the hang of this whole blogging concept and posting up articles that interest me.

Secondly, news out of Israel is that the Secular Court system is stepping in and requiring the Religious Dayanim to clearly spell out why they disagree with R' Chaim Druckman, who as the Rabbinic head of the National Conversion Authority, allowed numerous (hundreds/thousands) of conversions to proceed under his aegis that (chareidi) rabbonim feel should not have been permitted. The Secular Courts are now requiring the Religious Court to disclose why they overturned those conversions.

This is coming in conjunction with anothe recent ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, requiring tequal funding for Reform and Conservative conversions in line with funding provided to Orthodox conversions.

I have less of a problem with the second issue and a massive problem with the first.

A true secular country that strives, sort-of, for Church and State, should not be legally permitted to differentiate between branches of religion. But, in that same vein, neither should the Secular Court intervene in what is a matter of halacha and halachic dispute. It's one or the other. The Israeli Courts want it both ways.

Thoughts, comments?

2 comments:

  1. SEPARATION OF RAUNCH AND STATE !

    (It's still legal - and always God-honoring - to air messages like the following. See Ezekiel 3:18-19. In light of government backing of raunchy behavior (such offenders were even executed in early America!), maybe the separation we really need is the "separation of raunch and state"!)

    In Luke 17 in the New Testament, Jesus said that one of the big "signs" that will happen shortly before His return to earth as Judge will be a repeat of the "days of Lot" (see Genesis 19 for details). So gays are actually helping to fulfill this same worldwide "sign" (and making the Bible even more believable!) and thus hurrying up the return of the Judge! They are accomplishing what many preachers haven't accomplished! Gays couldn't have accomplished this by just coming out of closets into bedrooms. Instead, they invented new architecture - you know, closets opening on to Main Streets where little kids would be able to watch naked men having sex with each other at festivals in places like San Francisco (where their underground saint - San Andreas - may soon get a big jolt out of what's going on over his head!). Thanks, gays, for figuring out how to bring back our resurrected Saviour even quicker!

    [If you would care to learn about the depraved human "pigpen" that regularly occurs in Nancy Pelosi's district in California, Google "Zombietime" and click on "Up Your Alley Fair" in the left column. And to think - horrors - that she is only two levels away from being President!]

    ReplyDelete
  2. AFAIK, Israel does NOT have separation of religion and State (the fact that one cannot get a civil marriage here is but one example).

    And IMO, someone needs to call the Rabbanate into account for their actions.

    ReplyDelete