Posted on 07/09/2007 7:06:43 PM PDT by Alouette
Former Meretz leader and staunch opponent of religious institutions in Israel says struggle against rabbinical courts should be led by religious women, 'whose knowledge is often superior to men's'
Kobi Nahshoni Published: 07.09.07, 19:34 / Israel Jewish Scene
"It's unacceptable that a man, just because he studied such and such Gemara pages, will be able to doom you to be refused a divorce or make you slaves in your own home," former MK Shulamit Aloni told participants at the Kolech conference on women status and religion Sunday.
Referring to the plight of women who were refused a divorce, Aloni slammed the rabbinical courts in Israel and lauded the conference's organizers for their contribution to the struggle against the phenomenon.
According to the former Meretz MK, religious women were the most fitting to lead the struggle against the religious institutions, because "learned women have the means to deal with the rabbinical judges much more than heretics like myself. Some of them have knowledge superior to their male colleagues and the judges," she stated.
Aloni said that her long-standing fight against religious coercion failed because she was unsuccessful in enlisting the support of the religious public. She called for a joining of forces between secular and religious women's organizations, but stressed that such cooperation could never be complete: "I won't attend a prayer – neither with the women of the Western Wall, nor in one of your femininist minyanim."
When asked why she's being perceived as a hater of religion, Aloni reminded participants that her efforts to institutionalize civil marriage were only made after the religious authorities rejected halachic solutions she proposed. She stated that her demand to establish civil marriage came after she found out that "rabbis hate insubordinate women. The haredim have taken over the rabbinical courts and have made the situation there unbearable.
"The courts are plagued with corruption and indifference," she added.
Aloni also slammed the leader of the haredi Lithuanian stream, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elysahiv, who banned haredi women from studying for a BA. "No one should listen to this old rabbi who says that women shouldn't study for a degree, but should support the family instead," she said.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Orthodox Jewish women in Israel cannot initiate divorce?
Sounds a lot like some other religion in the area.
Oy, did we really need to see that picture?! She makes Helen Thomas look sexy!;)
I must be a Rabbi.
What Shulamit Alugly says about Judaism is about as accurate as what Michael Newdow says about Christianity.
So what are the Israeli divorce laws? I have no idea.
Are they different for Orthodox Jews than for the rest of the population? I know special allowances are made for Orthodox with regard to conscription and other issues.
Very good! I was going to refer to her as Alooney, but after seeing her picture (and nearly losing my dinner), I think your coinage is even more fitting.
This “woman” gives new meaning to the word “Chutzpah.” While one side of her sorry mouth is spewing hate against the religious community, the other is whining because its female portion won’t support her mission. Unbelievable!
I once heard a rabbi (not sure whether or not he was Orthodox) say that a “get” (divorce decree) must be given by the husband and accepted by the wife. Neither party can be forced to grant or consent to a divorce against his/her will. I’m not sure whether that law is rabbinic or in the Torah itself - someone help me out please!
So do a lot of other men .... this is news?
Sounds a lot like some other religion in the area.
Oh, for crying out loud! Are you really surprised that monotheistic religions have some things in common? And did you really expect the world's oldest religion to share the ideals of the "enlightenment?" I suggest you read this week's Torah portion (Numbers 30-36).
Did you know that Orthodox Judaism believes that all non-Jewish religions are false? Or that it calls for the death penalty for a wide variety of offenses--including a Jews' conversion to another religion--though those sentences can't be carried out today.
I once again warn conservatives to watch their anti-islamic rhetoric (the kind that tells moslems to "join the modern world"), because that's going to come back and bite you one day.
No, Orthodox Jewish women can't initiate a divorce, though the Rabbinic Court can order the husband to give his wife a divorce under certain circumstances. I believe the Talmud gives as an example a man ordered to divorce his wife who refuses, who is then beaten by the court until he relents.
Per your tagline:
It also gives anybody who thinks they might at some point become your enemy an excellent incentive to kill you first.
You more or less make my point.
A great many people on this forum are opposed to Islam because it is “medieval, but think Orthodox Judaism is just wonderful in every way. This is despite the fact, as you point out, that the two religions have a lot more in common than many of us realize, and some of the differences that exist in practice are because Orthodox Judaism has not held political power in a state for about 2000 years.
Those who adore Orthodox Judaism the most generally know the least about it.
So where's the problem again?
A great many people on this forum are opposed to Islam because it is “medieval, but think Orthodox Judaism is just wonderful in every way. This is despite the fact, as you point out, that the two religions have a lot more in common than many of us realize, and some of the differences that exist in practice are because Orthodox Judaism has not held political power in a state for about 2000 years.
Those who adore Orthodox Judaism the most generally know the least about it.
That certainly goes for "philo-semitic" liberals.
So what kind of anti-Semite are you . . . chr*stian or "enlightenment?"
Although I dislike the leftist Shulamit Aloni and how she ruined the Israeli Education system when she was minister, she makes valid points about divorce and corruption by the religious Haredi establishment.
Under Jewish Law the man must consent to a divorce (give a Get). This is sometimes used to extort money from women. NY State has passed an excellent law to force men to give permission (a get) once a civil divorce is granted. It is indeed shameful that Israeli law is more backward.
There are many women’s groups in Israel, many Orthodox religious ones, that advocate for freeing women from these unfair divorce laws.
Here is a link from a religious source explaining the problem:
I’m an anti-anti-semite.
I just don’t believe in pretending inconvenient facts don’t exist.
Since when is it supposed to be the woman's job to support a family? This rabbi needs a serious reality check. Lazy, good for nothing......
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