Israeli Rabbis Ban Marriage for Jewish 'Untouchables'

An underclass of Jews has emerged in Israel since the early 1990s. By Jonathan Cook - Tel Aviv Two immigrants from the former Soviet Union staged a very public wedding in the streets of central Tel Aviv this week to highlight the plight of hundreds of thousands of Jews barred from lawfully marrying in Israel.

[Tempest]

“Civil marriages are not possible in Israel,” he said.“So the rabbis get to decide who can marry and who cannot.”

Certainly these people should be allowed to marry and this is an important issue Israel is struggling with, but it's also true this couple needs only to go to Cyprus to be married.

"Israel’s Muslim, Christian and Druze citizens -- comprising nearly a fifth of the population -- have their own separate religious authorities who are given exclusive oversight of weddings."

Which means that Israel's Muslim, Christian and Druze populations also face similar issues if one or both of the couple doesn't meet the standards of these religious leaders, but because this publication is "The Palestine Chronicle" it chooses to focus only on the Jewish issues.

[Rick Moss]

Civil marriages ARE fully-recognized in Israel -- even same-sex civil marriages.

But, Israel has no provision in law for the state judiciary (judges and justices) to perform and record them. This didn't happen with the creation of a Jewish State. The exact same arrangement existed in the region under the Ottoman and British Administrations dating back to the 16th Century.

[Sam]

"Which means that Israel's Muslim, Christian and Druze populations also face similar issues if one or both of the couple doesn't meet the standards of these religious leaders.."

We do not have "similar issues" in Islam. The only standard to be a Muslim is to witness that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet (amongst others). You don't have to be of a certain race, religion, color, nationality etc... You also don't have to "prove" that your mother or grandmother or anyone else were Muslims.

[Rochelle Epstein Fulleton]

History seems to be repeating itself:
In recent history, the Christian majority of the "Pale" isolated Jews and limited their fundamental rights. Now, in the name of orthodoxy, Rabbis are doing the same in this matter, discriminating against fellow Jews, although theoy know the problems of proving their Jewish heritage.

The Rabbis should address the moral issues of this position(and other rulings)which have so little humanity: how this reflects on the Rabbis, and what ways these policies may affect the future of Judaism and orthodoxy.

[Tempest]

Sam wrote:

"Which means that Israel's Muslim, Christian and Druze populations also face similar issues if one or both of the couple doesn't meet the standards of these religious leaders.."
We do not have "similar issues" in Islam. The only standard to be a Muslim is to witness that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet (amongst others). You don't have to be of a certain race, religion, color, nationality etc... You also don't have to "prove" that your mother or grandmother or anyone else were Muslims.

So how many Muslim Imams would be willing to marry a Muslim and a Jew?

Any religious leader should be free to decide according to the tenets of their religion who they will or will not marry, or even who does or does not qualify as members of that religion. The problem here is that people have no alternatives according to civil law if they don't qualify.

[Bronx Boy]

The title of the article is misleading. We can't force Rabbis to marry anyone they don't want to.
Civil marriages performed elsewhere are recognized in Israel. The couple can get on a flight to Cyprus and get married. With the hotel
it's cheaper than getting married in Israel.

[Zinfab]

Sam wrote:

We do not have "similar issues" in Islam. The only standard to be a Muslim is to witness that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet (amongst others). You don't have to be of a certain race, religion, color, nationality etc... You also don't have to "prove" that your mother or grandmother or anyone else were Muslims.

Unless you live in Sudan and your skin is black then it doesn't matter what you proclaim about God and Muhammad, the janjaweed will still kill you.

http://www.janjaweed.com/

[year 2012]

Bronx Boy wrote:

The title of the article is misleading. We can't force Rabbis to marry anyone they don't want to.
Civil marriages performed elsewhere are recognized in Israel. The couple can get on a flight to Cyprus and get married. With the hotel
it's cheaper than getting married in Israel.

.......... ISRAEL is a racist state , which leads to other anti - social behaviors ...... all jews are not zionists ..... all zionists are not jews ........ the so - called christians and JEWS FOR JESUS did a holocaust ....... that is not license for purported victims of christian crusades to do a NAKAHA on the Palestinians ....... the anti - muslim crusades are funded by ERIK PRINCE , JOHN HAGEE , ROD PARSLEY , GENE MOSS , Douglas Feith , bill and irving kristol , GRACE CHUNG BECKER , Yair Naveh , Shmuel Zakai , SID KORSHAK , Abner Zwillman , the Raphans , The Pritzkers , MOMBACHS , SPECHLERS and Luysters ..... see OVERCOMING JUDEO - FASCISM by Joel Kovel .

[HughBe]

Is this not a question of race? Are the rabbis defining a Jew in racial terms?

"The rabbinate says that Mr. Tarosyan cannot prove he is Jewish according to its strict standards and therefore should not marry Ms. Samosvatov, who is considered a proper Jew."

[Zinfab]

year 2012 wrote:

<quoted text>.......... ISRAEL is a racist state , which leads to other anti - social behaviors ...... all jews are not zionists ..... all zionists are not jews ........ the so - called christians and JEWS FOR JESUS did a holocaust ....... that is not license for purported victims of christian crusades to do a NAKAHA on the Palestinians ....... the anti - muslim crusades are funded by ERIK PRINCE , JOHN HAGEE , ROD PARSLEY , GENE MOSS , Douglas Feith , bill and irving kristol , GRACE CHUNG BECKER , Yair Naveh , Shmuel Zakai , SID KORSHAK , Abner Zwillman , the Raphans , The Pritzkers , MOMBACHS , SPECHLERS and Luysters ..... see OVERCOMING JUDEO - FASCISM by Joel Kovel .

Poor baby. I bet the fever in your head makes you most uncomfortable.:(

[Bronx Boy]

HughBe wrote:

Is this not a question of race? Are the rabbis defining a Jew in racial terms?
"The rabbinate says that Mr. Tarosyan cannot prove he is Jewish according to its strict standards and therefore should not marry Ms. Samosvatov, who is considered a proper Jew."

Nothing to do with race. There are Jews of all races who get married by Rabbis in Israel.
If someone can't prove Jewish descent they can convert.

[Maverick]

year 2012 wrote:

<quoted text>.......... ISRAEL is a racist state , which leads to other anti - social behaviors ...... all jews are not zionists ..... all zionists are not jews ........ the so - called christians and JEWS FOR JESUS did a holocaust ....... that is not license for purported victims of christian crusades to do a NAKAHA on the Palestinians ....... the anti - muslim crusades are funded by ERIK PRINCE , JOHN HAGEE , ROD PARSLEY , GENE MOSS , Douglas Feith , bill and irving kristol , GRACE CHUNG BECKER , Yair Naveh , Shmuel Zakai , SID KORSHAK , Abner Zwillman , the Raphans , The Pritzkers , MOMBACHS , SPECHLERS and Luysters ..... see OVERCOMING JUDEO - FASCISM by Joel Kovel .

Please prove to us all how Jews are a race.

Also please enlighten the Census Bureau here in the USA about that. They missed the fax from you.

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/

[HughBe]

Bronx Boy wrote:

<quoted text>
Nothing to do with race. There are Jews of all races who get married by Rabbis in Israel.
If someone can't prove Jewish descent they can convert.

Thanks for the information

[GOSH SHALOM]

year 2012 wrote:

<quoted text>.......... ISRAEL is a racist state , which leads to other anti - social behaviors ...... all jews are not zionists ..... all zionists are not jews ........ the so - called christians and JEWS FOR JESUS did a holocaust ....... that is not license for purported victims of christian crusades to do a NAKAHA on the Palestinians ....... the anti - muslim crusades are funded by ERIK PRINCE , JOHN HAGEE , ROD PARSLEY , GENE MOSS , Douglas Feith , bill and irving kristol , GRACE CHUNG BECKER , Yair Naveh , Shmuel Zakai , SID KORSHAK , Abner Zwillman , the Raphans , The Pritzkers , MOMBACHS , SPECHLERS and Luysters ..... see OVERCOMING JUDEO - FASCISM by Joel Kovel .

.......... The jewish state defines itself as a privileged caste where jews may dig for water , have garbage pick- up , access the courts in equitable fashion , etc....... Zionists supported APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA because zionists desire the double standard that their ethnocentricity gives them ......... 9 / 11 was an inside job by zionists ...... funded by AVI DICHTER , Ariel Sharon , Moshe Tamir , Meir Klifi , Patrick Poole , douglas feith , paul wolfowitz , dick cheney and other blatant racists and architects of the APARTHEID WALL and FOX NEWS .

[Zinfab]

GOSH SHALOM wrote:

<quoted text>.......... The jewish state defines itself as a privileged caste where jews may dig for water , have garbage pick- up , access the courts in equitable fashion , etc....... Zionists supported APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA because zionists desire the double standard that their ethnocentricity gives them ......... 9 / 11 was an inside job by zionists ...... funded by AVI DICHTER , Ariel Sharon , Moshe Tamir , Meir Klifi , Patrick Poole , douglas feith , paul wolfowitz , dick cheney and other blatant racists and architects of the APARTHEID WALL and FOX NEWS .

Poor dear, your fever has you talking to yourself.

[Coolmind]

another reason to be an atheist .. goofy religion for goofy people

[Rick Moss]

Coolmind wrote:

another reason to be an atheist .. goofy religion for goofy people

Not all religious people are goofy, not all atheists are sane.

I am a believer in G-d and also a believer in both the methodologies and findings of science.

There are things in the Universe that are known (how the planets move), are unknown (how life began in the Universe and things that are just UNKNOWABLE (such as the nature and physical attributes of an infinite universe.

What is known, is known, what is unknown will eventually be known -- but, what is UNKNOWABLE requires a transcendence from our current state of physical minds to something else. That something else could be called a spiritual mind if we can't think of another word.

Religion, for many people, isn't a way to control others, or restrict how people think, but a way to connect the part of our mind that recognizes there is something bigger to our inability to comprehend it.

[HughBe]

Rick Moss wrote:

<quoted text>
Not all religious people are goofy, not all atheists are sane.
I am a believer in G-d and also a believer in both the methodologies and findings of science.
There are things in the Universe that are known (how the planets move), are unknown (how life began in the Universe and things that are just UNKNOWABLE (such as the nature and physical attributes of an infinite universe.
What is known, is known, what is unknown will eventually be known -- but, what is UNKNOWABLE requires a transcendence from our current state of physical minds to something else. That something else could be called a spiritual mind if we can't think of another word.
Religion, for many people, isn't a way to control others, or restrict how people think, but a way to connect the part of our mind that recognizes there is something bigger to our inability to comprehend it.

"how life began in the Universe and things that are just UNKNOWABLE"

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And God said:'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

Accept the above, in the same way that you accept all things that you claim to KNOW.

[Rick Moss]

HughBe wrote:

<quoted text>
"how life began in the Universe and things that are just UNKNOWABLE"
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And God said:'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness
Accept the above, in the same way that you accept all things that you claim to KNOW.

The question wasn't WHO -- the question was HOW. Beresheit (Genesis) is vague on that part.

[HughBe]

Rick Moss wrote:

<quoted text>
The question wasn't WHO -- the question was HOW. Beresheit (Genesis) is vague on that part.

Answer to the how.

And God said:'Let …. And it was so. i.e. He spoke and it came into existence.