Some three hundred rabbonim of cities, towns, settlements, local councils and neighborhoods gathered this past Sunday in light of the drastic deterioration in the condition of religious matters and the Rabbinate in Israel, and because of the terrible dangers presenting themselves at the doorsteps of all rabbis everywhere. They gathered to discuss the measures being planned by a hostile government determined to uproot religion by recognizing fictitious conversions, opening new districts for marriage registration which portends the danger of serious intermarriage, recognition of reform rabbis and others.
At this massive gathering attended by hundreds of rabbonim from all sectors and communities, the like of which has not taken place for many years, the voice of protest was heard, an outcry and a call to stand on guard for the basic fundamentals of religion and rabbinate in Israel.
The gathering, which took place in the Heichal Shlomo auditorium in Petach Tikva, was opened by HaRav Yosef Shlush, Chairman of the Organization of Settlement Rabbonim and regional rabbi of Southern Sharon area, who reviewed before the audience the various government decrees planned or implemented in all areas of religion, including the clause inserted in the Law of Arrangements whereby the Interior Ministry will cut the budgets of rabbonim in the settlements and transfer them to the local government councils, according to their own arbitrary preferences.
"To our dismay, most of these councils have not received any said budgets, besides which they have no interest in dealing with religious matters and certainly do not intend to disburse money for these services. This move constitutes a grave and direct threat to the entire structure of religion in every local council, beginning with the functioning of rabbonim up to the practical functioning of mikvo'os etc., where employees won't be paid for their avodas kodesh. We find ourselves before an unbearably difficult battle whose sole purpose is to privatize all religious services in Israel and made them accessible to the secular public in a totally secular setting devoid of any religious sentiment."
HaRav Yehuda Wolpe, rabbi of Rishon leZion, compared the situation to a chicken which is plucked to the very point that it is no longer recognizable.
"They have stripped regional rabbonim of their authority as marriage registrars and told them: Do as we tell you. They took away the role of Kashrus supervision, ordering them to `Do as we say.' They denied rabbinical authority in many other vital areas as well."
He voiced harsh criticism against the directives the rabbonim received to carry out marriage registration according to their orders, denying them the right to examine the religious credentials of the candidates for marriage. "They are trying to transform the rabbinate to a rubber stamp organization, threatening that if their orders are not carried out, they will imprison those rabbis. Local rabbis have always maintained the authority and right to act in all religious areas, and this is how it must carry on, as is practiced in every Jewish community throughout the world."
He continued by virulently attacking the Tzohar organization, declaring that there is no such thing as Tzohar rabbis; this is an innovation with no grounds for they are not rabbis.
