6/25/09

JPost: Israeli Rabbis Behaving Badly

A JPost article by Matthew Wagner that mentions in various capacities Rabbis Steven Riskin, David Stav, Shlomo Amar, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Tzfania Drori and Seth Farber, claims that "Zionist rabbis break law for converts," saying, "Modern Orthodox rabbis have organized to violate the law to help converts who are unable to marry because they are not recognized by haredi chief rabbis of cities...more..."

First off, that headline is not acceptable. If it's an op-ed piece, the opinion on law-breaking ought to be attributed. And if it's a news story, the headline is just plain misleading.

OK. What about the circus surrounding conversion standards in Israel? You may be right to blame the non-hierarchical composition of rabbinic society for the confusion about who has the authority to sanction conversion standards.

Still, that does not excuse the bad behavior of these learned adult religious leaders.

Get together rabbis and stop acting like children.
[Hat tip to Mimi...]

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