Israel's Justice Minister Opposes Proposed Constitutional Compromise On Religion

In a speech to the Knesset two weeks ago, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert strongly supported ongoing efforts by the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee to come up with a draft of a Constitution. The compromise now under consideration would prohibit the High Court of Justice from exercising "judicial oversight" on various matters of religion and state - including marriage and divorce, religious conversion, the nature of the Sabbath and Jewish holidays in the public domain, Jewish dietary laws at state institutions and the granting of Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. Under the proposal, Knesset legislation on religious matters could not be invalidated by the Court because it violates principles of equality, or other constitutional protections. So, for example, legislation that prohibited women from serving as judges on rabbinical courts would be protected. However today Haaretz reports that Israel's Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann is opposed to this compromise between secular and religious forces.