2005-05-13—Chief rabbis |
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and two scandals
jewishsightseeing.com, May 13, 2005 |
By Ira Sharkansky
Yona Metzger, is said to have benefited from free
hotel services for himself and his family. When he was appointed as chief
rabbi, there were allegations of sexual harassment involving young men and
women. For some details about these charges and manipulations involved in
Metzger's selection as Chief Rabbi, see http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=287165&contrassID=1.
There is not exactly a media boycott on Rabbi Metzger; but
the previous Chief Rabbi, Israel Meir Lau, is more likely to appear as a
commentator when an issue demands an authoritative and traditional voice.
We have not heard anything lately about Rabbi Metzger's sex
life or his hotel bill. Someone on high may have decided that the
charges about sex are old and doubtful, and that the hotel bill is too
trivial for a major scandal. Perhaps it is better to let the Rabbi serve
out his term under a cloud, than endure another downpour on a country
already bothered by weightier problems.
More prominent is a scandal that broke only last week,
involving the Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar. The characters include
Meir, a rebellious older son who left the family as a teenager,
has tattoos, and is well known to the police; Ayala, an 18-year old
daughter who was found communicating with an ultra-Orthodox young man in
an internet chat room; and Mazal, the rabbi's wife, who is said to have
been present when Meir and two Arabs he hired to join him in kidnapping
the young man beat him, cut off his ear locks, and ripped apart his
yarmulke. The Rabbi's role in all of this remains unclear. The police
investigation of him began before the Memorial Day-Independence Day
observances, and was suspended so he could take part in the
ceremonies. One report is that the Rabbi condemns the action, and says
that he was sleeping when the beating took place in his apartment. Another
report is that Meir told the Rabbi that he had the offending young man,
and was about to deal with him. For details, see http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1115346127824.
In the Rabbi's culture, there is segregation of the sexes
in all contexts and young people do not seek their own marriage partners.
When the story began, ultra-Orthodox commentators expressed their
confidence in the Rabbi and his wife (charges must be a fabrication of the
media or the rebellious son), and surprise that the family had not dealt
with the problem in a more conventional manner. Common in such
circumstances is sending the girl outside of the country, and marrying her
quickly to a suitable man in a distant congregation.
So far Rabbi Amar has asserted that he had no
knowledge of the issue. He prays that his rebellious son will soon
find the path back to a proper life. When asked about internet chat rooms,
he asked, what is the internet? His community idealizes those who do not
use cell phones, radio, television, computers, and all newspapers except
that published by the congregation. It is more difficult to suppress
romance.
The attachment is the Ha'aretz cartoon of May 9th. Rabbi
Amar, waiting his turn with the detectives, asks "How are they?"
Rabbi Metzger responds, "One Sephardi, one Ashkenazi."
During the coming week a committee including both Chief
Rabbis is scheduled to select candidates for positions as judges in
religious courts. These are distinguished appointments that decide, among
other things, cases of divorce. The Minister of Justice does not want a
committee selecting judges when two leading members of the committee are
under investigation by the police for criminal activities. Reports are
that Rabbi Amar has agreed to a suspension of the selection process, for
the sake of appearances, on condition that the suspension last only for
10 days. Check then with Israeli web sites to see if both Chief Rabbis
have been cleared of all suspicions.
Not all our religious leaders concern themselves with free
meals or family purity. One quarter of the front page of a recent Ha'aretz
is an ad by "The Rabbinical Congress for Peace," signed by heads
of yeshiva, members of the Torah Council of Sages, and "Pious
Geniuses" who call for opposition to the Israeli government that is
about to exile Jews from their homes in the Holy Land. Those who wish to
further this cause may send their contributions to POB 56131 in Tel Aviv.
Sharkansky is a member of the political science department at Hebrew University in Jerusalem |