Opinion & Comment
Politica
Jewish Religious Services Authority

The Religious Councils across the country are collapsing. Many rabbonim and employees have not been getting paid, some of them for months already. Not a single council is meeting the need for religious services. Jerusalem residents were shocked to learn the Religious Council would no longer be able to maintain the city's mikvo'os due to large debts to fuel oil providers.

The coalition agreement between Shinui and the Mafdal contains a paragraph stating, "The Religious Councils will cease to exist in their present form" and, "a professional team will draft an amendment to ensure and regulate the provision of Jewish religious services through other means (based primarily on municipal services). The team is to complete its task within six months."

Almost six months have passed since the government was set up, yet no conclusions have been tabled for legislation. For now the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs has been making moves as he sees fit, primarily in accordance with the Mafdal's political interests. Religious councils run by Mafdal figures are given priority in solving budgetary problems, while religious councils run by Shas figures are given priority for closure and are merged with other religious councils--due to budgetary problems, of course.

The Shinui-Mafdal agreement does not specify how religious services will be provided, except for the vague reference to municipal services, i.e. transferring religious services to the budget of the local councils. Presumably this means the local council would open a section or department to provide religious services, just as there are departments for culture, sanitation, social services, etc.

This is the worst idea possible. When a given city faces a budget crisis and the Interior Ministry demands it cut costs as part of its recovery, any mayor would invariably start slashing religious services first. How concerned are the mayors of Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Be'er Sheva or Nes Tziona over issues such as kashrus, eiruvin, shechitoh, nisuin, and the like?

Even local councils with active, dominant national-religious or chareidi representatives will always be worried what tomorrow might bring, for the balance of the coalition could change at any time. A new mayor could come along and these same active, dominant representatives could find themselves in the opposition.

In a preliminary vote during the previous Knesset, MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni succeeded in passing a bill to set up a special government authority for Jewish religious services to replace the religious councils. Just as there is a Ports and Railway Authority and an Airports Authority, there would also be an authority responsible for providing religious services for all of the State of Israel's Jewish citizens.

Among the obstacles the proposal has faced is staunch opposition by Shas, which held the Religious Affairs Ministry portfolio until not long ago. Then the religious councils provided the party a source of political appointments, just like the Mafdal before it, until eventually Shas gained complete control over the Ministry.

But now that the Mafdal has the upper hand in the Religious Affairs Ministry, Shas is unlikely to continue opposing this bill as forcefully as in the past. Their main ambition is for the present arrangement to remain until their hopes for a change in the current political situation are realized, bringing them back to power in the Religious Affairs Ministry and through it, in the local councils as well. But since these hopes now seem highly unlikely and since Shinui seems to be resolute in its intentions to implement all parts of the agreement related to the religious councils, perhaps Shas will agree to compromise on the setup of an authority for Jewish religious services, or at least voice less forceful opposition.

Before the summer recess began Rabbi Gafni tabled his bill a second time. He is well aware that as a member of the opposition it will be very difficult for him to advance the proposal, but it could well be that when the government presents a proposal on the matter of the religious councils, this idea can be raised for consideration among the alternatives presented to Knesset members. And who knows? Perhaps this proposal will be the one to capture the hearts of the majority.

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.