Earlier this month, as is traditional in Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presented to the Knesset the Basic Guidelines that will govern the policies of his new government. On religious matters, those Guidelines were brief. First they provide that "the status quo, as it pertains to religion, will be maintained." However, the new government did promise to "act immediately to pass legislation solving the problem of 'those prevented from marrying'." Presumably this means that the government will move ahead to authorize civil marriages in Israel, despite earlier reports that the Shas party had gotten a commitment to the contrary as part of its arrangements for joining the government.
The marriage issue has become more pressing recently. The New York Jewish Week on Friday carried a long article detailing ways in which Israel's Chief Rabbinate is making approval procedures more difficult for individuals seeking to be married by a rabbi. The Rabbinate is requiring extensive proof that both parties desiring to marry are in fact Jewish. The large number of Russians granted citizenship even though they were not Jewish according to religious law has been a significant factor in the crackdown. Also, changes in the office of the Chief Rabbinate has been a factor. A new official, Rabbi Yigal Krispel, is in charge of determining which rabbis' certifications will be accepted as proof that an individual was validly converted to Judaism. Krispel is less familiar with many U.S. and other diaspora rabbis than was his predecessor.
Other religious pressures are simmering in Israel as well. While Israel's High Court of Justice has just upheld the "Tal law" granting exemptions from military service to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, the Court suggested that the Knesset should act to make changes in the law. And yesterday, YNet News ran an article questioning why haredi (ultra-Orthodox) girls are excused from military or other national service requirements, while other Israeli girls are required to serve. The exemption for haredi men is justified by the country's need for Torah scholars. But the haredi community does not permit girls to study Torah.
