"The Chief Rabbinate Courts will be transferred to Justice
Ministry authority on January 1, 2004," declared Justice
Minister Yosef Lapid in a meeting of the Knesset Finance
Committee to discuss his ministry's budget.
"There will not be any attempt on my part to interfere with
the rulings of the rabbis at the rabbinical courts," he
proclaimed. "I have not considered interfering with the
decisions of the Chief Rabbinate Courts, just as I have not
considered interfering with the decisions of the courts. The
rabbis have nothing to fear. They will continue to rule
according to the din."
Lapid also said he wants "to assure the public there is no
basis for previously raised concern following the transfer of
the Chief Rabbinate Courts to my jurisdiction," claiming "the
storm winds in the rabbinical courts have already subsided.
Therefore the transition will be orderly, proper, and I will
even see to it that all of the concerns raised against me
prove unfounded."
Lapid's remarks were made in response to a question submitted
by MK Eli Aflalo (Likud). "It may be that the rabbinical
courts should be under you at the Ministry of Justice," he
said, "but we still recall your statements during the
elections. People now have to swallow this change, including
the dayanim at the Chief Rabbinate Courts. Therefore,
in your case I think one must not only be right, but also
smart."
Responding to Lapid's remarks MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz said,
"We do not realize how grave the times we live in are. We
have gotten used to accepting everything they say easily, for
in the end `they won't do this anyway.' But the new reality
is slapping us in the face. Everything they say for the worse
comes true. I suggest we all be prepared and cautious. We
must realize we are in a state of difficult decrees that are
destined to come true and we must come to our senses in order
to see what can be rectified."
Regarding Lapid's claims he would not interfere with rulings
Ravitz said he may or may not keep his word, "but one of the
difficult problems is the appointments committees, and I did
not hear him address this."
At the meeting Lapid also spoke on other issues. He referred
to the disruptions at the land registry office as "one of the
less welcome strikes, and we are helpless against it." On the
issue of government pardons, he reported his ministry
receives 2,000 requests for pardons annually of which only 2
percent are honored.
Justice Ministry Director-General Aharon Avramovich reported
that the police department of internal investigations
receives 6,300 complaints against policemen annually. In a
survey of 1,611 complaints, 206 led to criminal charges, 236
led to disciplinary hearings/proceedings, 389 cases were
found not guilty, in 567 cases the file was closed due to
lack of evidence, in three cases the file was closed because
the policeman passed away and one case exceeded the statute
of limitations. About 200 cases are not accounted for
here.
