[Wed., June 02, 2004 Sivan 13, 5764]
Ex-chief rabbi Bakshi-Doron backs end to Orthodox monopoly over marriages
Former chief Sephardi rabbi Eliahu Bakshi-Doron yesterday advocated dismantling the Orthodox rabbinate's monopoly over marriages - the first time any leading rabbi associated with the rabbinical establishment has publicly urged such a step.
Speaking at a rabbinical conference in Jerusalem, Bakshi-Doron urged the repeal of the law stating that marriages in Israel must be conducted according to religious law.
"Today, everyone marries as he sees fit in any case," he later explained to Haaretz. "This law was very important in its day, but today it is completely neutralized, and merely creates hatred."
The other rabbis at the conference greeted Bakshi-Doron's statement with silence, but later, many described it as a "bombshell."
In his speech, Bakshi-Doron gave several reasons why he thought the rabbinate's monopoly on marriages must end. First, he said, the law has become irrelevant, as growing numbers of Israelis are choosing to marry in civil ceremonies either abroad or in Israel (the state recognizes civil marriages conducted overseas, but not those conducted locally). Second, he said, the law encourages hatred of the rabbinate, since it is seen as the primary expression of religious coercion in Israel.
How about that?
