(RNS) — Israel’s minister of religious affairs, Michael Malchieli, announced last week that he would commit to appointing 10 women to seats in the 150-member assembly responsible for electing Israel’s two chief rabbis, ahead of the next election this summer. The rabbinate, headed by a duo of chief rabbis, has sweeping power over the many state functions that intersect with Jewish law in Israel, from setting kosher standards to overseeing marriage and divorce. Its budget accounts for half a percent of the national budget.
The assembly reserves 70 seats for public representatives, including members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and heads of local regional councils. The other 80 seats are filled by rabbis, chosen by the rabbinate itself.
The 70 seats for public officials have always been open to women, but women have seldom been equally represented even on that side of the council, giving them nearly no voice in who runs religious affairs.
The decision comes after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in January that religiously educated women should be eligible for the 80 rabbinic seats, even though the staunchly Orthodox rabbinate does not acknowledge that women can be rabbis.
Michael Malchieli. (Photo by Yakov Cohen/Wikipedia/Creative Commons)
The court, while ruling women are eligible, did not compel the rabbinate to appoint any. But Malchieli, a Knesset member representing the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party, conceded to pressure from groups such as Emunah, a social services agency affiliated with the Religious Zionist movement and focused on women’s issues, which said in a May 29 public letter to Malchieli:
Despite the fact that the Chief Rabbinate provides services for both g …
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The assembly reserves 70 seats for public representatives, including members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and heads of local regional councils. The other 80 seats are filled by rabbis, chosen by the rabbinate itself.
The 70 seats for public officials have always been open to women, but women have seldom been equally represented even on that side of the council, giving them nearly no voice in who runs religious affairs.
The decision comes after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in January that religiously educated women should be eligible for the 80 rabbinic seats, even though the staunchly Orthodox rabbinate does not acknowledge that women can be rabbis.
Michael Malchieli. (Photo by Yakov Cohen/Wikipedia/Creative Commons)
The court, while ruling women are eligible, did not compel the rabbinate to appoint any. But Malchieli, a Knesset member representing the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party, conceded to pressure from groups such as Emunah, a social services agency affiliated with the Religious Zionist movement and focused on women’s issues, which said in a May 29 public letter to Malchieli:
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