"…Many years ago, when we were looking for a school for my daughter in Gush Etzion, it was suggested that we send her to [Rabbi Shlomo] Riskin’s girl’s school. The welcoming and non-judgmental atmosphere there helped my daughter embrace Judaism and become observant, which helped our whole family move closer to the tradition we were deprived of in the former Soviet Union.…The [haredi] attempt to discontinue Riskin’s tenure as chief rabbi of Efrat will have ramifications…there will be one uncompromising, illiberal and, dare I say it, unauthentic mirage of Judaism that will be enforced on all [against their will].…"
Above: Avigdor Lieberman
Former Foreign Minister MK Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the secular predominantly Russian Yisrael Beiteinu Party, writes in today's Jerusalem Post about the haredi-controlled official state Chief Rabbinate's attempt to remove the tenure of leading Modern Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Riskin:
…Many years ago, when we were looking for a school for my daughter in Gush Etzion, it was suggested that we send her to [Rabbi Shlomo] Riskin’s girl’s school. The welcoming and non-judgmental atmosphere there helped my daughter embrace Judaism and become observant, which helped our whole family move closer to the tradition we were deprived of in the former Soviet Union.
Riskin has been an outspoken advocate of making Judaism more obtainable and attractive for the uninitiated and unobservant through organizations such as Tzohar and Beit Hillel. He also was a brave early supporter of the so-called “Tzohar Law,” originally written by Yisrael Beiteinu, to open the choice of place of registry for a couple wishing to get married to anywhere in the country, and of the easing of conversion.
Perhaps because of this support, he has been marked [for retribution] by increasingly radical elements within the [Chief] Rabbinate.…
For most rabbis reaching the age of 75, there is usually a “rubber stamp” approval from the [Chief] Rabbinate to continue for another five years.
In Riskin’s case, however, it was demanded almost unprecedentedly that he appear for a hearing on whether he will receive this extension. It has been suggested that there is currently a majority in the [Chief] Rabbinate for discontinuing Riskin’s tenure.…
This cannot and should not be tolerated. The very nature of Judaism is being hijacked in a political turf war.
The Judaism that sustained our people for thousands of years is now a pale of shadow of itself in official 21st Century Israel and those of us who care deeply about it should have their voices heard.…
The attempt to discontinue Riskin’s tenure as chief rabbi of Efrat will have ramifications far beyond the Judean Hills. If successful, it will be the first move in an ongoing attempt to silence all dissent from rabbis across the land.
There will be no more “70 faces of the Torah,” as the Midrash teaches us. Rather, there will be one uncompromising, illiberal and, dare I say it, unauthentic mirage of Judaism that will be enforced on all.…We need to send a strong message that the attempt to stifle and harass rabbis, like Riskin, who wish to disseminate Torah beyond the yeshiva walls will not be tolerated. Judaism compels and requires it.
This must be our red line.
You can read Lieberman's entire op-ed article here.
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