JERUSALEM (WJC)–Israel’s Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman has caused a stir in the country after calling for Torah law to become binding in Israel. “Step by step we will bestow religious law upon the citizens of Israel and transform religious law into the binding law of the state.”
Neeman, an observant Jew, told a conference of rabbis and religious court judges on Monday that holy texts contained “a complete solution to all the things we are dealing with”. He said that the past standing of Jewish religious law “needs to be restored.”
Tzipi Livni, the leader of the opposition Kadima party, rejected the proposal: “The idea of Neeman should bother every citizen who is concerned about what will happen in terms of Israel’s values and democracy.” Haim Oron called Neeman’s statements a ”worrisome process of Talibanization of Israeli society.”
Amnon Rubinstein from the liberal Meretz party, a predecessor to Neeman as justice minister, said “proposing to transform Israel into a state of religious law is a revolution that will negate Israel’s character as a Jewish, democratic state, nullify the standing of the Knesset and necessitate the replacement of judges with religious jurisprudents. This will not be the Israel that we know and a large part of the non-religious public will not want to live in such a state.”
In a speech to the Knesset on Tuesday, Neeman appeared to soften his stance. He said his remarks had been misunderstood, adding: ” All that I did was to praise the work of the rabbinical monetary courts that arrive at their rulings on the basis of Hebrew law. The courts are overloaded and it is appropriate to encourage a transfer of authorities to alternative frameworks.”
Most Israeli Jews are secular.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress