With the formation of the new Israeli government, all kinds of promises and statements were made regarding reforms in the way the State will deal with religious issues, in particular, Kashrut certification and conversion. And now, just over a hundred days after its establishment, Religious Affairs Minister, Matan Kahana is formulating concrete proposals.
Not to be mistaken, the two subjects under scrutiny at this point, “Kashrut” and “Conversion”, are fundamental in Jewish religion and they affect many people in a variety of ways, in particular in Israel.
Kashrut certification has been up until now, the exclusive domain of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate (also a government Institution), that controls which restaurants are considered Kosher, which foods, both locally produced and imported, are kosher and who makes decisions regarding Kashrut. Kashrut certification increases the price of food as well as that of a restaurant meal but the commercial implications are many and decentralizing it will likely cause disruptions in supply and lead to economic pressures such as boycotts that are hard to control. So any change in the current rules is desirable but the many aspects of it will need to be carefully examined before they are implemented to prevent chaos. And while the result for the Israeli public may be that contrary to what Kahana promises, the cost of food will increase, at least we are confident that a kosher certified glass of milk tastes the same as a non-kosher one.
Conversion to Judaism, also fully controlled by the Chief Rabbinate, in fact controls “who is a Jew” and who is not. The non-Jew wishing to convert, has to do so under very specific Orthodox conditions in order to be recognized (by the State) and the conversion must be performed by Rabbis approved by the Chief Rabbinate. And not being recognized as Jewish in Israel has serious consequences. First of all, chances you will receive a permanent status in Israel are very slim indeed, but beyond that, you will not be able to marry in Israel, cannot be buried in most municipal cemeteries, and your children will not be recognized as Jewish, leaving them in the same predicament you found yourself in.
The issue has become more problematic since the influx in the 80’s of the last century, of large numbers of Russian immigrants, who, while not considered Jewish by the Orthodox establishment, were eligible for Israeli citizenship because the immigration laws differ from the Orthodox rules. Today, hundreds of thousands of people who immigrated years ago, or are the children of such immigrants, are Israeli according to the law, but not Jewish according to Orthodox rulings.
Matan Kahana, apparently with the backing of the coalition partners, has decided to do something about this anomaly, but the method he has chosen to remedy the situation will most likely only make things worse. Kahana has proposed decentralization of the Kashrut procedures, allowing additional (orthodox) authorities to issue Kashrut certification, and thereby allowing competition that would result in lower cost (today, a not insignificant part of the price of a food product in Israel, is paid directly to the Chief Rabbinate for approving the Kosher status of it). Regarding conversion, the reforms he has in mind are similar in nature, i.e., allowing conversion to be performed by municipal rabbis, who may or may not have a more lenient approach to the Jewish or non-Jewish background of the applicants.
Kahana is simply trying to have his cake and eat it too. He is broadening the group of authorities that is allowed to perform religious services (with the exclusion of course of Reform and Conservative Judaism, but that is a different story), thereby making religion even more central is Israeli daily life and the control of religion over this daily life even bigger than it already is. The “Jewish” State is still in complete denial regarding the Big Lie, that Israel is a Jewish and Democratic State. And Kahana’s efforts are only strengthening this lie.
The thousands of Israelis that today are denied basic Democratic rights may or may not be interested in performing religious ceremonies that only their conversion will entitle them to but if they are not given an option to choose, many of them will simply continue to live as second-rate citizens, knowing their children will be in the same predicament.
If Kahana is intent on making improvements in the centralized religious system that Israel has today, he should undertake steps to make sure that religious affairs are controlled by religious authorities, and civil affairs are controlled by the State. In the current situation, with the State controlling (through the Chief Rabbinate), many of the religious aspects of Israeli life, Israel finds itself on a slippery slope towards religious coercion, and Kahana’s current plans only exacerbate this.
The only option Kahana does have, if he really wants to improve the status of these questionable Jews, is to institute civil procedures, that will give them a real choice. If they want to marry according to “Halacha” they need to submit to the rules of Halacha. If they do not want to they will have the option to acquire marriage status through a civil procedure approved and recognized by the State, without having to go to Cyprus to get married.
Of course, while undoubtedly Kahana means well, he is (mis)guided by questions regarding the “Jewish Nature” of the State, by Israel being a “Jewish” State, as well as by the eternal question of “Who is a Jew”. But the lives of people cannot wait for solutions to these issues, and neither can the State. Leaving control over such basic rights as marriage to the Religious authorities will strengthen their grip and tomorrow they will demand more. A religion has every right to decide upon rules and regulations for people who are willing to submit to these rules and regulations as part of their religious experience, but it is the duty of the State to provide alternatives for those who do not. The lack of those alternatives will make second-rate citizens of anyone who is not willing to submit and will increase religious coercion and allow it to spread to every aspect of life.
Does a “Jewish State” really have to be that way or maybe there are unexploited alternatives?
I hope you found this article interesting and I welcome any comments you may have.
If you register on the site, you will be receiving a notice when new articles are posted.
