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Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Oded Guez (handout via JTA)
In rare move, rabbinical court annuls marriage of woman refused divorce
By David Sedley
Two years after Oded Guez fled rather than grant wife bill of divorce, Haifa court uses secret legal procedure to nullify the marriage retroactively
Oded Guez (handout via JTA)
June 18, 2018, 9:55 pm
In rare move, rabbinical court annuls marriage of woman refused divorce
Two years after Oded Guez fled rather than grant wife bill of divorce, Haifa court uses secret legal procedure to nullify the marriage retroactively
By David Sedley
Rabbi Gershom, second left, prepares to read the Torah during a Shabbat service among the Abayudaya Jewish community, in a village near Mbale, eastern Uganda, July 2, 2016. (AFP/Michael O'Hagan)
June 14, 2018, 11:42 pm
Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily blocks deportation of Ugandan Jew
Visa for Kibita Yosef expires Thursday, but court says state must first explain why it won't allow members of Abayudaya community to immigrate
By JTA
Ugandan Jews carrying Torah scrolls (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon via JTA)
June 13, 2018, 2:09 pm
How dare Israel deny a Ugandan Jew citizenship!
When your community has been practicing Judaism for 100 years, nobody should question your right to make aliyah
By Noah Libson
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau (L) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef convene an emergency meeting against a new proposal to overhaul the conversion to Judaism system in the country on June 3, 2018 (Courtesy of the Chief Rabbinate spokesperson)
June 5, 2018, 3:02 pm
Chief Rabbinate appeals to European rabbis to oppose conversion reform
After slamming Nissim Committee recommendations to strip it of conversion powers, state rabbinical authority looks overseas for help
By TOI staff
Israel's chief rabbis convene an emergency meeting with religious Zionist rabbis against a proposal to overhaul the conversion to Judaism system in the country on June 3, 2018 (Courtesy of the Chief Rabbinate)
June 3, 2018, 3:10 pm
Chief rabbis urge Netanyahu to ‘bury’ bill reforming conversion system
Interior minister vows to block proposed amendments giving official recognition to Reform, Conservative conversions abroad
By Marissa Newman and Stuart Winer
The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (L) and Rabbi David Lau (R) speaks during an event, on January 11, 2016. (Yaakov Coehn/Flash90)
June 3, 2018, 12:58 pm
The Jewish Vatican
Blame the growing disconnect between global Jewry and the Israeli Chief Rabbinate on the rabbis' power grab
By Michael Boyden
Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau (center) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (right) attend a meeting of the Rabbinate Council in Jerusalem in November 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
May 30, 2018, 5:52 pm
Diaspora rabbinical judges could have to take exams to get Chief Rabbinate’s OK
State-run religious authority releases proposed guidelines for recognition of Orthodox rabbinical courts abroad; activists slam 'unprecedented power grab'
By Marissa Newman
Venice's chief rabbi, Scialom Bahbout (YouTube screenshot)
May 28, 2018, 10:04 pm
Venice’s chief rabbi takes row with Israeli Rabbinate to Knesset
Scialom Bahbout protests Chief Rabbinate's refusal to recognize his conversions, says argument 'nearby' rabbinical courts in Rome, Milan are sufficient doesn't hold water
By Marissa Newman
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, located at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New York. (Courtesy, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah/JTA)
May 28, 2018, 8:34 pm
Rabbinate official appears to blacklist alumni of liberal Orthodox yeshiva
Rabbi Asher Ehrentreu rejects proof-of-Judaism letter from graduates of New York's Chovevei Torah; Rabbinate denies claim it's a matter of policy
By Marissa Newman
The entrance to the offices of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Jerusalem. (Flash90)
May 25, 2018, 3:08 pm
Marriage is a basic right, ’til the rabbis pull rank
A new bill aims to extend the reach of Israel's Rabbinate, the very body creating the problems the law is supposed to fix
By Peter Buchsbaum
CNN panelists discuss a meeting Ivanka Trump and Jared Kishner had with Isreal's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, May 16, 2018. (Screen capture: YouTube)
May 17, 2018, 3:28 am
CNN panel discusses rabbi who compared black children to monkeys
Debate about Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and his meeting with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner devolves into comments about one panelist's masculinity
By Ron Kampeas
Illustrative photo of a Jewish couple getting married. (Justin Oberman/Creative Commons)
May 10, 2018, 6:10 am
To ‘unchain’ Jewish women, rabbinate could extend reach across borders
Amid heavy criticism, Knesset debates bill to grant Israel's rabbinical courts oversight of Jewish divorce cases, including for those wed in civil unions
By Marissa Newman
Illustrative: Miriam Goldfisher, director of a kosher supervision class for women, studying Jewish dietary laws in preparation for the Israeli Chief Rabbinate exam on the topic. (JTA)
May 2, 2018, 11:52 pm
In first, women can apply to be Knesset rabbi
Lawyer for progressive Judaism persuades Knesset legal adviser to alter tender that discriminates by requiring Orthodox ordination
By Sue Surkes
MK Rachel Azaria speaking at a panel discussion at the Schecter Institute on April 30, 2018 concerning the need for Israel to still find its' Jewish identity. (Eyal Weiss/Schecter Institute of Jewish Studies)
May 1, 2018, 6:59 pm
Event meant to build bridges between Israel and Diaspora goes up in flames
A panel discussion hosted by JTS and the Schechter Institute on the religious divide between American Jewry and Israel becomes a microcosm of the widening rift
By Tracy Frydberg
Illustrative: An Israeli rabbinical court reviews a conversion case. (Flash90)
April 28, 2018, 3:38 am
New bill would entrench Orthodox monopoly over Jewish conversion
US Jewish groups say Rabbinate-appointed panel 'not a compromise,' undermines Diaspora community's connection to Israel
By JTA
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