A haredi chief rabbi of an Israeli city may be removed by Israel’s Religious Services Ministry because he continues to bypass state rabbinical courts and instead refers questions of Jewish status to private haredi investigative organizations which intentionally rule very strictly on these matters and unnecessarily rule people to be of questionable or non-Jewish status.
The Chief Rabbi of Rishon Letzion Yehuda David Wolpe
Government Moves To Remove Haredi Chief Rabbi Of Rishon Letzion
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A haredi chief rabbi of an Israeli city may be removed by Israel’s Religious Services Ministry because he continues to bypass state rabbinical courts and instead refers questions of Jewish status to private haredi investigative organizations which intentionally rule very strictly on these matters and unnecessarily rule people to be of questionable or non-Jewish status, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Those extremely strict rulings are problematic for several reasons, both for the state and for the chief rabbinate, on one hand, and for the people whose status is being ruled on, on the other.
For the state the chief rabbinate, the actions of Rabbi Yehuda David Wolpe, the Chief Rabbi of Rishon Letzion, go against their statutory power.
For the people whose status is being determined, being ruled a questionable Jew or a non-Jew destroys wedding plans and ruins lives.
In February of this year, ITIM – the Modern Orthodox organization headed by Rabbi Seth Farber – filed a petition with the High Court of Justice against Wolpe and the Am Levadad company he primarily uses to stop their abuse of Rish Letzion residents trying to register to be married.
Now, Israel’s Ministry of Religion is reportedly working to make legislative changes necessary to fire Wolpe – an completely unprecedented step.
If successful, Wolpe would be the first chief rabbi of an Israeli town or city ever to be removed from office.
The chief rabbinate’s procedure and rules for determining Jewish status – while more liberal than Wolpe’s – are still well within the haredi norm and much stricter than what would be the case if Zionist Orthodox rabbis were in charge.