A woman "rabbi" and the Gezer Regional Council are
petitioning the High Court to recognize Reform and
Conservative "rabbis" in rural areas and urban neighborhoods,
on an equal standing with the rabbonim who are
recognized and authorized by the Chief Rabbinate.
Although both Reform and Conservative are tiny fringe
movements in Eretz Yisroel, petitions they have filed to the
High Court on issues such as conversion, Shabbos and the
Kosel Maarovi have managed to shock the country time after
time.
In this latest petition the Reform Movement and the Gezer
Regional Council claim that at Kibbutz Gezer a woman serves
as rabbi, Rachmono litzlan, and state regulations do
not allow Reform and Conservative rabbis to benefit from the
same terms Orthodox rabbis receive.
The petitioners claim that the 16 rabbonim serving in
the Gezer Regional Council enjoy the same terms and
privileges accorded to all other rabbonim in the
country while the kibbutz' Reform rabbi is discriminated
against.
According to the petitioners, giving funding preference to
Orthodox religious services and intentionally disregarding
Reform and Conservative services is a "patently illegitimate
and illegal form of preference for the Orthodox stream and
discrimination against other bodies."
