Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale.israele
Titolo: I moadim in Israele

http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=11032
quest'anno il 70 % degli israeliani andrà in sinagoga a Kippur, il 40 % ci
andrà a Rosh ha shanà, il 36 % non ci andrà del tutto. Il 13% progetta di
passare Rosh ha shanà e Kippur in sinagoghe non ortodosse.
Il 40 % degli israeliani si lamenta della scarsità di offerta - vorrebbero
andare in una sinagoga non ortodossa, ma non la hanno vicino a casa.
Tra coloro che dichiarano di non voler andare in sinagoga, c'è un 40 % che
ci andrebbe se la sinagoga non fosse ortodossa. tra le ragioni che fanno
preferire a costoro le sinagoghe non ortodosse vi è la possibilità di stare
accanto ai familiari e la parità di diritti religiosi tra uomini e donne.

State to recognize reform, conservative conversions
PM nixes any legislative amendments to Law of Return. 
Lapid confirms facts via his spokesman.
Maariv International 12 September 2004
The state is about to recognize non-orthodox conversions in Israel,
effectively ending the orthodox monopoly over this issue. This follows the
PM's decision not to initiate or support any legislation defining orthodox
conversions as the only kind valid in Israel. 
A few days ago a discussion took place as to the state's position in
preparation for the upcoming hearing before the High Court of Justice
(HCJ). The court has been hearing a petition filed by IRAC (Israel
Religious Action Center), the public and legal affairs division of the
Reform Movement in Israel, against the Interior Minister in response to
his refusal to register non-orthodox converts as Israeli citizens. The
suit was filed several years ago when Shas, an ultra-orthodox party, held
the ministry. 
During the discussion, Attorney General Meni Mazuz said that the state had
no legal basis for refusing to recognize reform and conservative
conversions carried out in Israel. He made it clear that such a policy
could only be created by legislation legally enshrining orthodox
conversions as the sole valid conversions in Israel. This would require
amending the Law of Return. Such a step would be akin to opening a
Pandora's box, and could lead to a total schism between Israel and world
Jewry, the majority of whom is not orthodox, as it would, in effect be
enshrining orthodox Judaism as the only recognized and officially
sanctioned form of Judaism in Israel. 
At the end of the meeting the PM decided that the government would neither
initiate nor support any such legislation, and that this would be the
basis of the state's response. 
Deputy PM Justice Minister Yosef (Tomi) Lapid, leader of Shinui, which is
committed to a policy of religious pluralism in Israel, confirmed these
facts, via his spokesperson. 
There have been unconfirmed reports emanating from the PM's bureau that
Sharon will attempt to have his cake and eat by including the Ne'eman
committees' recommendations in the state's response. 
The Ne'eman committee was set up last time the HCJ was due to deliver its
verdict on this case. It called for the Jewish Agency, to form special
conversion classes with a syllabus agreed upon by representatives of all
the major streams within the Jewish nation. Rabbinical courts, subject to
the orthodox Rabbinate, would convert graduates of these classes. The
effort came to naught, when the Rabbinate failed to live up to its
commitment, by refusing to allow the Rabbinical courts to convert the
graduates who appeared before it. 
Justice Minister Lapid's spokesperson denied the allegations. "We know of
no decision to include any reference to the Ne'eman committee in the
framework of the state's response", he said. 
Interior Minister and Shinui deputy leader Avraham Poraz also said that he
was unaware of any binding decision to resurrect the Ne'eman committee,
and that if any such attempt were made he would oppose it. "In such an
eventuality, the minister will present his own opinion to the court
negating any such attempt, and supporting a policy of recognizing any
conversion performed in good faith, irrespective of whether the
officiating rabbis were orthodox, conservative or reform", he said through
his spokesperson. The spokesperson said that since the suit was filed
against the Interior minister, he had full discretion to present his
opinion if it transpired that it differed from the one formulated by the
Attorney General. 
The PM's office declined to comment, despite having received several
verbal and written requests for comment. 
IRAC welcomed the development. "If indeed the government acknowledges the
fact that the state can no longer deny full and equal recognition to all
the major streams of Judaism, including their conversions, this is a great
day for the state and the entire Jewish nation", said IRAC spokesperson
Merav Seger. 
Attorney Nicole Maor, head of IRAC's legal department said that she too
was happy that the government had no intention of trying to legislate
orthodox conversion as the sole legitimate form of conversion. She
expressed concerns about the possibility of further delays by waving the
Ne'eman committee as a red herring in front of the court. "The Ne'eman
committee never had a legal basis, as the Knesset never adopted it. It no
longer has any public basis either, as it was derailed by the Rabbinate,
in violation of specific promises and commitments. Trying to resurrect it
now would be a deliberate attempt to pull the wool over the court's eyes". 
-- 
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