‘The Jews here want to continue’: Likud MK kicks Reform rabbi out of Knesset hearing
Labor MK Gilad Kariv states women can wrap tefillin, prompting outrage from Distel Atbaryan, who appears to compare act to giving dog a bar mitzvah
Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan on Monday ordered Labor MK Gilad Kariv removed from a Knesset committee meeting following a dispute, snapping at the ordained Reform rabbi that “the Jews here want to continue.”
Distel Atbaryan, who chairs the Subcommittee on Jewish Thought in the Education System, engaged in an argument with Kariv after the latter asserted that women can wrap tefillin, or phylacteries, according to Jewish law, amid a discussion on Education Minister Yoav Kisch’s plan to boost Bible study in secular schools.
Kariv, an ordained Reform rabbi, welcomed Kisch’s announcement that he would set out guidelines for where tefillin may be worn in schools in order to ensure that students may do so without problems.
“I was very happy to hear that the minister intends to regulate the issue of tefillin…since one of my two daughters is meticulous about putting on tefillin,” Kariv stated. “I am sure that there will be a paragraph in the circular making clear that all students, as permitted in the Halakha, can do it.”
“I don’t have the strength for these provocations,” Distel Atbaryan responded. “If you conduct a bar mitzvah for a dog, I will come and celebrate,” she added, apparently comparing holding a coming-of-age ceremony for an animal to a woman wrapping tefillin.
Gilad responded that the Likud MK “probably doesn’t understand anything about Halakha or Jewish tradition,” gesturing toward her, and adding: “This is the face of Israeli tradition.”
“Please remove the enlightened Reform man,” she retorted sarcastically. “The Jews here want to continue.”
In rigid Orthodox streams of Judaism, the practice of wrapping tefillin is reserved for men, while more inclusive movements permit women to take part in the practice.
Non-Orthodox streams of Judaism are often disparaged by some Orthodox leaders. Ahead of Kariv’s entry into the Knesset in 2021, several Orthodox Jewish MKs vowed to boycott him, branding his stream of Judaism a dangerous cult, and some said he would not be considered as part of a minyan (prayer quorum) in the Knesset synagogue.
Responding to Monday’s incident, Kariv said in a statement, “The hateful attack and loss of composure by MK Galit Distal testify to the convoluted Jewish worldview that she and her coalition partners subscribe to – a zealous, misogynistic, isolationist, and resentful Judaism.”
“We will not allow this view of Judaism to take root in our children’s schools,” he vowed. “We will introduce them to a tradition that embraces diversity, humanity, and inclusion, and that serves as the meeting point between tradition and renewal.”
Education Minister Kisch’s reforms have sparked pushback from opposition lawmakers, who argue that the policies amount to religious coercion.
The Times of Israel Community.