Matthew Bell

Matthew Bell

Matthew Bell is a Jerusalem-based Middle East reporter. He has been with The World since 2001 and has filed stories from cities across the US and abroad.

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Israel to Put More Liberal Rabbis on State Payroll

June 4, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
Rabbi of the State Miri Gold of Kibbutz Gezer in central Israel was only the third woman to be ordained a rabbi in Israel. Now, she is set to become one of the first rabbis from the Reform stream of Judaism to receive a salary from the Israeli government. (Photo: Matthew Bell)

Rabbi of the State Miri Gold of Kibbutz Gezer in central Israel was only the third woman to be ordained a rabbi in Israel. Now, she is set to become one of the first rabbis from the Reform stream of Judaism to receive a salary from the Israeli government. (Photo: Matthew Bell)

In Israel, there is no separation between synagogue and state.

Orthodox rabbis are funded by the Israeli government, while rabbis from the Reform and Conservative movements are not.

That is expected to change, as Israel says it will put non-Orthodox rabbis on the state payroll.

Discussion

2 comments for “Israel to Put More Liberal Rabbis on State Payroll”

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=572860116 Gabriel Lewin

    My issue with this story is that it comes from a perspective that a Western, Democratic ethos is essentially seen as better and more enlightened than the ethos of traditional Judaism. Who said that their way was better? Who gives the authority to PRI to make editorial decisions about the majority wishes of a people who overwhelmingly support traditional Judaism in Israel?

  • Shrdlu42

    First, Gabriel, you are assuming this is what the majority of people in Israel actually want.  If you know anything of the political realities of that nation, you’d know that’s a dubious claim at best.

    Israel has proportional representation in the Knesset, which means there is almost NEVER a majority government.  Instead the governing party has to form a coalition, with heavy involvement from the Orthodox religious parties.  This gives that group political power way out of proportion to its actual numbers.

    As for the “Western, Democratic ethos”: please remember Israel was founded out of, and because of, that very “ethos”.  The Founders of that nation were largely secular, and even “leftist” Jews.  They were NOT seeking to recreate “Biblical Israel”.

    Furthermore, of all people, Jews have the most reason to favor separation of church and state (or in this case, synagogue and state).  We’ve been constantly on the “receiving end” of what happens when government and religion are mixed.  It wasn’t pretty!

    Finally, this story demonstrates there are plenty of Israelis who want the “favored position” Orthodox Judaism enjoys to change, or even be ended.  That’s also been true for many years.