Attorney Alan Dershowitz is asking President Shimon Peres to
intervene in the case of the apparent blacklisting of Rabbi Avi Weiss by
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.
The Rabbinate recently rejected a letter by Weiss vouching
for the Jewish credentials of an American couple seeking to wed in Israel (the
Rabbinate requires a letter from an Orthodox rabbi certifying one’s Jewish
identity in cases of non-Israelis seeking to immigrate or marry in Israel).
Weiss, the spiritual leader of the Hebrew Institute of
Riverdale and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, has been the subject of
controversy in recent years for pushing the envelope when it comes to ordaining
Orthodox women as clergy.
After learning that his credentials were being challenged by
the Rabbinate, Weiss penned an opinion article in the Jerusalem Post on
November 5 calling on Israel to end the Rabbinate’s “monopoly on religious
dictates of the state.”
Here’s what Dershowitz, a practicing criminal and
constitutional lawyer, wrote to Peres on Monday:
Rabbi Weiss is one of the foremost Modern Open Orthodox
rabbis in America and one of the strongest advocates anywhere for the State of
Israel. As a person – I am deeply saddened by the pubic shaming of my friend,
Rabbi Avraham Weiss, the leader of a flagship Orthodox congregation.
As a Jew – I understand that today more than ever before
there is a chasm between the Jews of the United States and the religious
institutions in Israel. This is clearly expressed in the rejection of the most
elementary and fundamental testimonies and confirmations.
I am disturbed by
this, and by its ramifications, and call upon the leaders of Israel to first
understand that there is a serious problem which demands attention, and to
understand that they mustn’t bend to baseless religious tyranny.
As a lawyer – I am forced to see yet again how basic rights,
such as the right to marriage, the right to self-definition and the right of
religion, are trampled by none other than the Israeli democracy we value so.
This is yet another result of the rather unsuccessful fusion of Religious law
and Israeli law, and the problem seems to only intensify over time.
I turn to you, Mr. President, knowing that you have always
been a voice of moral courage – to intervene in this matter.
The Rabbinate has denied that it blacklists rabbis, saying
it does not keep a list of rabbis whose testimony it accepts as authoritative
in clarifying a person's Jewish or marital status.
Responding to a request made in September by the Tzohar
rabbinical organization to see such a list, a spokesman for the Chief Rabbinate
told The Jerusalem Post that “no list exists either hidden or public."
According to the report, which appeared Monday, the
spokesman said every request made for clarification of Jewish and marital
status “is examined individually and thoroughly."
Tzohar says an increasing number of Jewish couples from
North America have had difficulty in registering upcoming marriages with the
Chief Rabbinate because the testimony of their community's rabbis was not
recognized.
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