Israel's Knesset Passes Law To Draft Yeshiva Students

In Israel today, the Knesset passed the controversial Equal Service Bill imposing military service obligations on ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish yeshiva students who have historically enjoyed a draft exemption. Times of Israel reports that the bill provides for a 3-year transition period during which a target for ultra-Orthodox enlistees into the military will be set.  The target will rise each year until 2017 when it will go to 5,200 new Haredi enlistees each year. Individual sanctions against yeshiva students who dodge the draft will be triggered if these enlistment targets are not met. The bill passed 67-1, with the opposition boycotting the vote. In 2012, Israel's High Court of Justice struck down the Tal Law -- whose formal title was "Deferral of Service for Yeshiva Students for Whom Torah Is Their Profession Law." (See prior posting.)

Israel's High Court Bars Subsidies For Some Yeshiva Students Who Have Received Draft Deferrals

In Israel yesterday, the High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction in the sensitive dispute over drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli military. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Court order prohibits the government from transferring funds for stipends to some 3000 yeshiva students. In 2012, Israel's High Court of Justice held that the "Tal Law" that provided exemptions for ultra-Orthodox students and a framework for subsidizing their religious studies conflicted with Israel's Basic Law, and therefore the Knesset could not extend the law in its then existing form after its July 2012 expiration. (See prior posting.) The Knesset has so far been unable to agree on a new law. However, the government has continued paying stipends, and the Justice Minister issued mass deferrals to Orthodox students who received enlistment orders after the Tal Law expired.  In yesterday's action, the High Court ruled that no future stipends may be paid to yeshiva students in the 1994, 1995, and first half of 1996 cohorts who have received enlistment orders but have been deferred.

In Israel, Haifa Chief Rabbi To Be Indicted Over Payoffs In Kashrut Supervision

In Israel, prosecutors last week informed the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of the city of Haifa, Shlomo Chelouche, that he is likely to be indicted for improper conduct in his supervision of kosher food purveyors. According to Thursday's Arutz Sheva, in two instances Chelouche solicited donations to a charitable organization he heads from companies to which he was granting kashrut certificates.  In the case of one of those companies he also arranged a job for a family member. He is also accused of removing the kashrut certificate of a third company, a catering hall, to pressure it to rehire his personal secretary as their kashrut inspector after the individual had been fired. Israel's Justice Minister Tzippy Livni said that because of the charges she would move to suspend Rabbi Chelouche from his positions as Chief Rabbi and religious court judge.

Israel Obtains Extradition of Recalcitrant Husband From U.S. Using Other Charges As Pretext

YNet News reports that last Friday the United States extradited to Israel a man sought primarily by an Israeli Rabbinical Court for refusing to grant his wife a get (Jewish divorce document).  The U.S.-Israel Extradition Treaty only permits extradition where the offense is a crime under the laws of both countries.  So formally the extradition was on the basis of charges of sex offenses and pedophillia. During the divorce proceedings, the wife's sister testified that the husband had sexually abused his minor son and had abused her when she was a minor.  Usually Israel's Justice Ministry does not request extradition until it has investigated allegations, but here it agreed to act sooner because of the husband's denial of a get.  Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon, head of the Rabbinical Courts' Agunot Department, says that Israel's Justice Ministry Department for International Agreements will use this case as precedent in the future to seek extradition using suspicion of other crimes to obtain return of men who have fled abroad after refusing to grant their spouse a get. [Thanks to Jack Levey for the lead.]

Israel's Supreme Court Issues Temporary Stay Of Rabbinical Court's Order Requiring Boy's Circumcision

As previously reported, last month Israel's Supreme Rabbinical Court upheld a lower court's $140 per day fine imposed on a woman who is refusing to have her one-year old son circumcised. Her husband, as part of a divorce action, is seeking to require the circumcision. Now, according to a report yesterday from Haaretz, Israel's Supreme Court has issued a temporary injunction halting enforcement of the Rabbinical court's order pending its appeal.  The Supreme Court ordered the husband to respond to the appeal by Jan. 2.

Israeli State Rabbinical Court Fines Mother For Refusing To Have Son Circumcised

Haaretz and  Failed Messiah report that in Israel, the Supreme Rabbinical Court on Sunday denied an appeal from an Oct. 29 decision of the Netanya Rabbinical Court (see Jewish Press, Nov. 7) imposing a fine of  NIS 500 ($140 US) per day on a woman who is refusing to have her one-year old son circumcised. The woman is in the midst of divorce proceedings with her husband who is seeking to force the circumcision. The boy was not circumcised at 8 days of age because of a medical condition, and subsequently, with her husband's agreement, the woman decided "she couldn't do that to my son." There is no circumcision requirement in Israeli civil law.  During the divorce proceedings the husband changed his mind. The appeals court judges apparently concluded, however, that the mother was now refusing to have the boy circumcised as a way to force a reconciliation with her husband. The judges also indicated their concern that allowing a Jewish Israeli woman to leave her son uncircumcised would encourage the anti-ritual circumcision movement in Europe and the United States. The mother argued in court that only Israel's civil family court has jurisdiction to order a circumcision, but the rabbinical court concluded that it also had jurisdiction of the dispute that arose in a divorce proceeding. The mother plans to appeal the decision to Israel's High Court of Justice.

Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Arrested On Bribery Charges

In Israel, the country's former Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger was arrested by police today on charges of bribery, money laundering, obstructing an investigation, and fraud.  Haaretz reports that police suspect Metzger, as chief rabbi, took bribes totaling millions of shekels (1 NIS= $0.28 US) from non-profit organizations in exchange for advancing their interests. In June, as Metzger neared the end of his term as chief rabbi, it was initially announced that he was under investigation. (See prior posting).