OP ED: Close the religious councils (in Israel)

The Jerusalem Post ^ | 23 December 2003 | MICHAEL BOYDEN

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Dec. 23, 2003
Close the religious councils
By MICHAEL BOYDEN

As we approach the beginning of 2004, the chances that religious councils will be abolished by the end of this December seem increasingly remote. Not that anyone should be surprised. All too often, the Promised Land turns out, in fact, to be the land of unfulfilled promises.

Although seldom heard of - except when they decide to go on strike and close their doors to those whom they are supposed to serve - the religious councils are meant to be there to meet our needs.

The Jewish Religious Services Law, passed by the Knesset in 1971, stipulates that religious services should be provided "to the entire [emphasis mine] Jewish population by means of the religious council and the local rabbinate."

What has happened in practice is that these religious councils have become the private fiefdoms of the National Religious Party and Shas. While they provide protected jobs and handsome incomes for the party faithful, they do little to meet the religious needs of the majority of Israeli Jews, who do not identify with the Orthodox religious establishment.

Attempts by the Reform and Conservative movements to have their legally elected representatives take their seats on these councils have met with fierce resistance. Only the repeated intervention of the Supreme Court has forced them to observe the law.

However, even these pyrrhic victories have proven to be merely symbolic given the make-up of the councils, which are totally dominated by their Orthodox and haredi members. I myself met with a blank wall in attempts to obtain assistance for my congregation from a local religious council.

THE RELIGIOUS councils are big business. There are 131 of them up and down the country. Nineteen of them are regional, serving kibbutzim, moshavim and other settlements, while the rest are intended to meet the needs of towns and cities.

Their combined budget for 2001 was NIS 410 million, of which 40 percent came from our local taxes, 40% from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the remainder from fees and other payments.

Not surprisingly, the offices of chairman and deputy chairman of these councils are coveted positions, given that they carry employment conditions similar to those of the local mayor and deputy mayor.

Even these salaries and terms of employment, it would appear, are not always sufficient to satisfy their greed. The State Comptroller's report for 2002 protested that no fewer than 36 chairmen and deputy chairmen were receiving benefits in excess of the established criteria.

Given all of this background, it is not surprising that there are many who believe that it is high time to put our house in order. The ongoing recession that has hit our country, forcing massive cuts in welfare payments, social services, health care, education and other essential services, has added further weight to the argument that the religious councils should be shut down.

There is no earthly reason why the functions carried out by these councils should not be handled by a municipal department in the same way as education or sanitation are handled. That this has not happened to date has to do with jobs, power and lots and lots of money.

One of Shinui's main campaign pledges in the past national election was to close down the religious councils. This, as indicated earlier, is meant to happen by the end of this December. With little over a week to go, it seems hardly likely that they will meet the deadline. Recent local government election results, in which Shinui did not make the progress it had hoped for, would suggest that the public is not overly impressed to date with its record in fulfilling its election pledges.

The coming weeks will show whether the National Religious Party or Shinui dictates Ariel Sharon's religious-political agenda.

The writer is director of the religious court of the Israel Council of Progressive Rabbis.

[KantianBurke]

"Even these salaries and terms of employment, it would appear, are not always sufficient to satisfy their greed. The State Comptroller's report for 2002 protested that no fewer than 36 chairmen and deputy chairmen were receiving benefits in excess of the established criteria."

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Yep, yet expect to be attacked by some here on FR for highlighting that. I expect to be lambasted for defending Shinui as I regularly am. It's one thing to insist that Israel be a Jewish state, which I do. It is another altogether to have one branch of Judaism funded at the expense of all others. Then again, what do we Masortim know? To the haredim we may as well be gentiles.