Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rabbinate has authority over public religious affairs, including supervision of ritual slaughter
of animals, designation of eating establishments as kosher (adhering to Jewish dietary laws),
and control of courts dealing with matters of personal status and family law, such as mar-
riage and divorce — a system inherited from the Ottomans and adopted by the British rulers.
The national rabbinic authority is run by the pro-Zionist Datim and not the Haredim,
which enhances religious-state cooperation. The Haredim maintain their own, more stringent
standards and limit their involvement with the state. In addition, the system excludes Reform
and Conservative Jews, who did not exist in Israel at the time of the agreement. Struggles by
the small Reform and Conservative groups have led to some offi cial role for them, although the
Rabbinate has opposed their involvement for religious reasons and out of self-interest.
For its part, the state sees that all public institutions serve only kosher food and keeps them
closed on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays. In areas with many religious residents — mainly
parts of Jerusalem and Bnei Brak— some streets are closed to vehicular traffi c on the Sabbath.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is always led by a member of the Knesset from a reli-
gious party, oversees matters affecting religion.
Yet those who want to circumvent religious rituals and observances can do so easily. All
marriage is religious, but since any marriage abroad is recognized, those who want a civil mar-
riage often take the short trip to Cyprus to get married. Stores selling non-kosher items are
found in many places, and more and more stores are open on the Sabbath. There is no real
state pressure to observe religious practices.
The precise balance of power on religious-secular questions shifts somewhat depending on
the composition of government coalitions. In recent years, partly because of the large-scale
immigration from the former Soviet Union, secular forces have gained in strength. An impor-
tant exception is Jerusalem: secular inhabitants have tended to move away, and the religious
population has grown proportionately larger.
The majority of Israelis, even those who are secular, consider the Jewish religion a neces-
sary aspect of Israeli society. A small fl ow of individuals are always changing groups: secular to
religious, religious to secular. All sides and subgroups know they will never gain every Jew's al-
legiance. The religious parties do not seek total power nor try to impose religious observances
on the entire country; rather, they act as interest groups, defending their constituencies and
obtaining jobs and funding for them.
Among one of the few elements of change has been the ability of Shas, as both a religious
and a Sephardic party, to attract large numbers of adherents for its religiously fl avored so-
cial institutions. Another trend has been the gradual acceptance of Zionism by those in the
Haredi community who — depending on their specifi c group and leader —have undergone
Israelization.
In any case, religion is an integral part of Israeli life, even in supposedly secular sectors of
society. Not only does the arrangement between the Rabbinate and the state shape society, so
does the fact that Israel is a Jewish state built on the foundation of 2,000 years of Jewish history.
Zionism has further transformed traditional Jewish tenets into national values. Israelis who are
secular may complain about Haredi power as excessive, but they have their own relationship
to the historic belief system of the Jewish people.
