The Prime Minister's Office has decided to postpone the
government plenum to weigh transferring the Rabbinical Courts
from the Religious Affairs Ministry to the Justice Ministry
following harsh criticism against the proposed move, which
would make Justice Minister Tommy Lapid (Shinui) chairman of
the Dayanim Selection Committee.
Chareidi political parties made clear to the Prime Minister
and his staff that such a decision would not pass quietly and
would not make the system any more efficient, but would
merely cause constant dissent between the Justice Minister
and the entire beis din system.
According to speculation Sharon wanted to transfer
responsibility for the Rabbinical Courts in order to enable
the government to pressure dayanim into instituting
leniencies in conversion, chas vesholom. The Prime
Minister's statements at a government meeting one month ago
and last week in Jerusalem, including a remark that "the
dayanim must be flexible with the halacha," provide a
clear indication of his intentions. Officials at the Prime
Minister's Office say they are aware of the potential
problems transferring the botei din to the Justice
Ministry would entail and, following extensive criticism it
was decided to delay deliberations for the present.
At one of its upcoming meetings the government also plans to
approve the appointment of former Mafdal MK Rabbi Chaim
Druckman as head of the conversion apparatus. The proposal to
appoint Rabbi Druckman to this post, first published in
Yated Ne'eman three months ago, was initiated by
Deputy Minister Yitzhak Levy after the Attorney General
determined that Rabbi Druckman could no longer serve as a
dayan at the specialized conversion courts due to his
advanced age. Rabbi Druckman, who was never officially
appointed a dayan, has come under harsh criticism by
leading rabbonim for his so-called conversions, which clearly
contradict halochoh.
According to Ha'aretz last week, "the appointment of
Druckman--who is identified with the lenient approach to
conversion procedures--was made following pressure by Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, who believes this would make it
possible to significantly increase the number of converts."
The newspaper also noted that in 2002 "only 848 goyim
among the 300,000 non-Jewish immigrants living in Israel"
were converted. The contents of this report demonstrate high-
ranking Israeli government and Jewish Agency officials
support mass conversion in order to alter the country's
demographic balance.
The Rabbinate and many dayanim have expressed
opposition to the appointment of Rabbi Druckman. Rabbinate
figures say that the majority of immigrants have no interest
in converting and merely view Israel as a convenient place to
live after having immigrated through deceitful means. The
Rabbinate stresses that although Rabbi Druckman's appointment
was imposed by the Director-General of the Prime Minister's
Office at Sharon's behest, he will be limited in his
activity. He will only have the authority to sign "conversion
certificates" granted by him and his cohorts.
