A terrible law criminalizing rabbis for weddings outside rabbinate
And a bill to annul it was blocked:
A bill to annul a law which stipulates a possible two-year term of imprisonment for a rabbi who performs a wedding outside the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate was blocked on Sunday.ITIM is going to file for litigation against this to protect rabbis' rights, but for now, it's terrible this was allowed to stand. It's petty and does a disfavor for many couples in Israel.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted against the bill, proposed by Yesh Atid MK Aliza Lavi, which was designed to repeal the severe legal implications for rabbis who perform such weddings.
There are frequent cases in which couples encounter severe bureaucratic problems within the rabbinate that prevent them getting married on their intended wedding date. This includes instances when the rabbinate fails to approve one or both of the partners’ documentation proving their Jewish status; refuses to accept converts as Jewish; or when couples elect to marry with an Orthodox rabbi of their choosing, but without the rabbinate’s approval.
The law, as it stands now, subjects both a rabbi who performs a chuppah and a couple getting married, to a two year criminal punishment if their marriage is not registered in the rabbinate.
Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Knesset, political corruption
