JP Says Separate Religion and Government In Israel

The influential Jerusalem Post today called editorially for a separation of religion and government in Israel. It urged as a first step that the Knesset abolish the offices of the two Chief Rabbinates (Ashkenazi and Sephardi). The editorial cited recent charges of personal and financial wrongdoing related to the incumbent Chief Rabbis. But it went further, arguing that there is no need for the current governmental religious councils or for the state-sponosred religious courts. The editorial continued by declaring, "We are strong believers in the Jewish state, but the current bonds between Judaism and the state have hurt both immeasurably. We are less of a Jewish state because of the politicization of religion, which has driven many more Israelis away from Judaism than it has brought closer."