Yaakov Neeman
Will we be hearing condemnations from Pamela Geller, Rabbi Jonathan Hausman or Robert Spencer for this call to replace secular law in Israel with Jewish Law? Don’t hold your breath. (via Huffington Post)
JERUSALEM — Israel’s justice minister called for Jewish law to become binding in Israel, causing a stir Tuesday that cut to the heart of the country’s simmering secular-religious divide.
Yaakov Neeman’s office tried to contain the uproar Tuesday by saying his words were taken out of context and that he had no intention of replacing Israel’s current legal system. But his comments touched a raw nerve among secular Israelis wary of what they consider to be religious coercion by the Orthodox Jewish minority.
Neeman, an observant Jew, told a rabbinical conference on Monday that the Bible contains “a complete solution to all the things we are dealing with.”
“Step by step we will bestow religious law upon the citizens of Israel and transform religious law into the binding law of the state,” he said. Israeli newspapers said the rabbis attending the conference applauded him wildly, but some lawmakers later attacked his remarks as antidemocratic.
Secular Jews make up about 80 percent of the Jewish population. While many participate in some religious observances, only the Orthodox adhere to Judaism’s strict regimen of rules, including praying three times a day and not driving on the Sabbath.
Opposition lawmaker Haim Oron warned of a “troubling process of Talibanization” in Israel.
In the wake of the commotion, Neeman’s office put out a statement Tuesday saying he spoke only “in broad terms” about “the importance of Jewish law in the life of the state.”
The minister’s remarks did not imply “a call to replace state laws with religious laws, either directly or indirectly,” the statement said.
Speaking in the parliament Tuesday, Neeman said his remarks had been misunderstood. He added that rabbinical courts could provide practical help. “The justice system in Israel is overworked,” he said, “and therefore disputes should be encouraged to be transferred by mutual agreement to an alternative judging system.”
A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no immediate comment.
The notion of instituting religious law in a democratic society is a sensitive one in Israel, which is largely secular but marks the Jewish Sabbath and all Jewish holy days as national holidays and has always allowed rabbinical authorities control over procedures like marriage and divorce.
Secular Israelis are afraid that a wider application of religious law would bar them from activities such as driving, shopping or even turning on the television on the Sabbath.
Heavily religious Jerusalem, which has experienced a flight of secular Jewish residents over the past two decades, is the site of the most faith-based friction.
Over the summer, police clashed repeatedly with ultra-Orthodox protesters enraged by the city’s decision to open a parking lot on the Jewish Sabbath, when driving is banned by religious law. More recently, ultra-Orthodox activists have demonstrated against an Intel Corp. chip-making plant in Jerusalem because it operates on the Sabbath.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Religious states the United States finds cute and cuddly…
December 8th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
As long as its not Sharia Law, Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller don’t really care if other theocratic systems are in place.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Minister Neeman’s wish may well happen in the future, isn’t that the mission of Zionism? Israel already has discriminatory laws against Christians, and Messianics are persecuted, what would happen to Christians if Yaakov Neeman’s wish became true?
It is possible that one day Israel maybe become a theocracy, it’s likely if majority want it, because that’s what they’re hoping for.Question is what about those who don’t fit into what Jews think is the real religion for non Jews which is Nohide?
Can anyone shed lite on this? Robert Spencer conveniently ignores the rights of Christians in Israel, my guess is cuz he is paid by Horowitz, so he has to kiss his backside. Everybody knows about the occupation, but not many people talk about discrimination in Israel, and what would happen to the world if Israel is a theocracy. They could use their nuclear weapons to threten us to become jewish or nohide.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
@ Timothy
“They could use their nuclear weapons to threaten us to become jewish… ”
I find this hard to believe.
Of course any country with nuclear weapons has the potential to be very dangerous (understatement) - but to say that Israel could be motivated to use them to threaten us to become Jewish doesn’t ring true at all.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Yeah, that’s bcuz Israel is secular now Christianity is tolerated, but what if Israel does become a theocracy like Minister Neeman wants? Would Christians be able to eat pork? wear crosses, have Churches? Phil Chesler and others talk about the growing ‘Jewish Taliban’ problem, and in a theocracy they would be free to mistreat women, discriminate against Christianity which is termed ‘idolatry’. What is the difference between Charedi Jews and Wahabi Musims? one news articles, says not much
Haredim Attack Modern Orthodox Girls In Beit Shemesh, Part 2
“Boys and girls laughing together is forbidden. This shouldn’t happen in a secular neighborhood, let alone…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/apr/19/waronsexinisraelandsaudi
Some interesting light has been cast on the similarities between Wahhabi Muslims and Haredi Jews
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/apr/19/waronsexinisraelandsaudi
The Jewish Taliban in Jerusalem
http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2009/11/18/the-jewish-taliban-in-jerusalem/2/
By Phylis Chesler
November 18th, 2009 11:05 am
The rise of the Jewish Taliban.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+rise+of+the+Jewish+Taliban.-a0190379262
Jewish Taliban treating Palestinian Christians like zoo animals
FEATURE-Christian housing faces Israeli encirclement
http://angryarabscommentsection.blogspot.com/2009/04/jewish-taliban-treating-palestinian.html
Jewish Taliban spend Passover attacking women and sick people
Saturday, April 11, 2009
http://angryarabscommentsection.blogspot.com/2009/04/jewish-taliban-spend-passover-attacking.html
Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron reported that three women were attacked by masked Israeli settlers Friday near their Bedouin village of Umm Al Kher, south of Yatta.
Minority Report: The Jewish ‘Burqa’?
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/02/the-jewish-burq.html
But these women are not Muslims choosing to wrap themselves in full length niqabs or burqas, these are a small group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish women in Israel who have taken to wearing quite possibly one of the most austere forms of “Jewish hijab” available.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
So you’re not saying they would use weapons to bully everyone else to be Jewish (what I thought you were saying originally), but to live under Jewish law (no pork, respecting the Sabbath..)? Still not convinced.
1)The articles you site are about orthodox Jews wanting to live as, well, Orthodox Jews. Honestly, they don’t care whether gentiles eat pork or not. They just want to practice *their* religion as they see fit. Jewish law is for Jews. It’s quite a leap of logic to gather from that that they would obstruct others from practicing theirs.
2) The Taleban are not “wahhabis”.
3). Shit happens. While it’s jarring to see supposedly religious people lose it, the world is a big place with a lot of potential for things to go wrong and people to lose their cool. Its wrong to gather from a couple of scattered sensational reports of Haredi violence that this is characteristic for the whole community.
4) re: Jewish Burqa - Who cares? So some Jews want to dress as Jews of old dressed. Big whoop.
December 12th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Nat, in an Israeli theocracy, the status of Christianity would be idolatry, and the religous theocracy wannabe’s (gaining support) do call for Christianity to be banned as idolaty and to use nuclear weapons to obliterate Mecca and Medina and Israel’s enemies. Bcuz there is a new article added by Loonwatch about the settlers burning Koran’s here,
http://www.loonwatch.com/2009/12/israeli-settlers-attack-west-bank-mosque-and-burn-qurans/#comment-3606
I have posted some url’s, which you can see. This is what would happen in a theocracy, at the momement these religious fanatics are the fringe, but in a theocracy they would be the law of the land.
December 12th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
The Jerusalem Post had an interesting interview with DR. NAHUM Rakover, an Israeli law expert who thinks that it wouldn’t be a problem to implement, Halacha into law,
Most revealing, is when he was asked about the borders of Israel. He refused to answer that.
The borders of Israel in jewish law, include modern day Iraq don’t they?
Religious Affairs: Who’s afraid of a halachic state?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1260447411555
Mavo’i Satum, an organization that fights for women’s rights in the rabbinic courts, which are responsible for divorce procedures, said that those who implement Jewish law have “failed miserably to find solutions to modern problems and to develop innovations,” and noted that after six decades the courts have still not appointed a single female judge.”
Former justice minister Yossi Sarid expressed his fear that if Israel is turned into a state ruled by Halacha, there would be public stonings or burnings in cases of those who dared desecrate the Shabbat or were unfaithful to their spouse, or if two homosexual men had sexual intercourse.
But would the full implementation of Jewish law truly be similar to Iran’s ayatollah state or worse?
DR. NAHUM Rakover, 77, winner of the Israel Prize in 2002 for his lifetime work in encouraging the use of Jewish law in the legal system, does not think so.
Question - What about the rights of non-Jews under Jewish law?
Non-Jews are entitled to all the civil rights that a Jew is. The only difference between the two is national rights. Only Jews have the right to the land of Israel. It was given to us by God.
Question - According to which borders?
I’d prefer not to get into that.
December 13th, 2009 at 5:16 am
Christian Zionists in America support a theocracy in Israel because they need the temple to be rebuilt. To better understand their fanatacism, their opposition to the peace process, their need to expand Israel to the “biblical borders” before the Armegeddon can take place, and their genocidal ambitions, please see these 3 websites.
Not only are they are excellent resources on the dangers of Christian Zionism on American foreign policy and the stalling of the peace process but they have been in the forefront in exposing Islamophobia and anti-Semitism as well as other intolerances by the Christian right in America.
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A group of Pastors including Stephen Sizer that exposes the dangers of Christian Zionism. Videos, news links and other excellent resources to keep up with Zionist extremism are available here
http://www.christianzionism.org/
We are the official website of the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism which is a group of pastors, academics, students, interested laypersons and a Rabbi who have been disturbed by the growing influence of Christian Zionism on the political scene in America recognizing this ideology to be a major factor in the stalled peace process in Israel / Palestine.
Jews on First,
Defending the First Amendment against the Christian Right
http://www.jewsonfirst.org/
Rabbi Beliak and his group at Jews on First, did an excellent rebuttal on Obsession, the movie whose anti Islam mission was to scare Americans from voting for Obama. They failed miserabley not least in part to the activism by those who exposed their lies.
Talk to Action whose co-founder is Bruce Wilson
http://www.talk2action.org/
This website has exposed Walid Shoebat, the other fake terrorists and pretend Musims, and regularly expose the anti-semitism and islamophobia of the CUFI crowd and the Christian right wing. Video’s and interviews galore.
Christians United For Israel “Wipes” Dome Of The Rock From Website Logo
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/4/14/13148/6938
Whether intentional or not, CUFI’s website logo depicts such a future, in which the Dome of The Rock has apparently been destroyed and this raises questions about the growing tactical alliance between Jewish lobbying groups such as AIPAC and John Hagee’s burgeoning national CUFI lobbying group ; ostensibly, Jewish Americans are allying themselves with CUFI for the benefit of Israel, but CUFI leaders have come out in categorical opposition to Israeli land-for-peace deals with the Palestinians and have even publicly claimed to have played a part in disrupting peace negotiations. CUFI’s Christian Zionist leaders, rather than seeing peace, seem to endorse an Israeli posture of maximal military confrontation and during the Israeli army incursion into Lebannon, in the summer of 2006, Pastor Hagee described the incursion and Israeli bombing as a “miracle from God”.
But, Pastor Hagee’s, and CUFI’s, political positions have no counterpart within Israeli mainstream society. Rather, such views are held, in Israel, by groups considered to be on the extreme political fringe. A veteran Israeli journalist consulted for this story stated that, in mainstream Israeli political sentiment, actions, conspiracies, or even thoughts concerning the destruction of the Dome Of The Rock are considered “abhorrent” and repeatedly stressed the extremely marginal nature of such beliefs within Israeli society.
In Israel, the destruction of the Dome Of The Rock is a centerpiece goal of indigenous terrorist groups, but within American politics the idea has become sufficiently mainstream that leading American politicians have eagerly sought to curry the political favor of religious leaders, such as John Hagee, who say they look forward to the destruction of the Dome Of The Rock. Such an event would enrage much of the Islamic world and could provoke the sort of disastrous military confrontation centering around Israeli that apocalyptic Christian Zionists such as John Hagee say they long for. So, American Jews who have made the decision to tactically ally themselves with John Hagee, in the belief that Hagee is the best friend Jews can expect to find in support of Israel, must confront the reality that John Hagee’s, and to a somewhat lesser extent AIPAC’s, political positions may not represent Israeli mainstream political views but may lie, rather, somewhere between the hard right to the fringe right along the Israeli political spectrum.
In the end, Christian Zionism has, as a political force, sought to preclude and prevent peace in the Middle East, and lately Pastor John Hagee’s new CUFI lobby has had great success in entraining American Jews in a coalition that seems bent on war.
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
All muslim countries bar Turkey are theocratrical dictatorships based on the Koran. Why cant Jewish law be implemented in their ‘holy land’ of Isreal?