The ministry wants to transfer the responsibility for the Judaism inquiries of the Beta Israel community "to its natural place in the rabbinical court" • The community: "We are harmed for political purposes"
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel building, in Jerusalem, in 2017
Photography:
Oren Ben Hakon
The Ministry of Religions wants to change, for the first time in decades, the method of clarifying Judaism in the Ethiopian community, which infuriates rabbis in the community, who claim that this is abuse.
There has been a rift between the parties for nearly a year, and every letter from the Ministry of Religions has been answered with an angry response from the rabbis.
The disconnect is so severe that a significant portion of the community's rabbis in the sector do not talk to the Chief Rabbi of Ethiopian Jewry, Rabbi Reuven Vabashet, and refuse to cooperate with the move.
The affair began in 2017, when a serious report by the State Comptroller was published on the work of Jewish investigators in the Ethiopian community. “The rabbis rely solely on personal knowledge, interrogating community elders and family members, and examining the marriage files of family members married in the country.
This conduct has often led to conflicting decisions regarding members of the same family. "
A year ago, the Ministry of Religions began to lead a controversial move that provokes much anger in the Ethiopian community.
Instead of community rabbis deciding who a Jew is, the ministry said, the rabbinical courts will do the same, as with any new immigrant seeking to prove his Jewishness.
They also sought to establish a computerized system that would monitor Jewish inquiries.
The rabbis, for their part, were very angry at the whole proposal and rejected it outright.
They sent an angry response letter to the chief rabbis.
"The chief rabbis and the chief rabbinate council understood that the Ethiopian community is special. Unlike immigrants from other countries, the community's immigrants do not have any documents. In some cases there is not even a date of birth. The court will not have the tools to handle applications," a community source told Israel Today.
"Deepening the gaps"
The move was frozen for a year, with a complete rift between the rabbis of the communities and the Ministry of Religions in the background, and when both sides blamed each other for the situation, and about a week ago it came up again on the table.
In a detailed letter sent by Rabbi Hezekiah Samin, director of the religious services department at the Ministry of Religions to all senior officials of the ministry, the chief rabbinate and the administration of the courts, he recommended that the responsibility for Jewish inquiries in the Ethiopian community be transferred "to its natural place in the rabbinical court" urgently.
At the same time, he proposed an alternative in the form of appointing other rabbis as Jewish enlighteners, such as those who "would undertake to work in an orderly manner."
This is in view of the rift and the confrontation between the parties.
At the end of his letter, he criticized the opponents of the move, claiming that "the Jewish investigators of the Ethiopian community in their behavior deepen and sharpen the gaps in Israeli society, due to the desire to preserve their power despite the severe harm to the Ethiopian community."
Judaism investigators claim, on the other hand, that the ministry refused to listen to their proposals and the compromises they made.
"This is an appeal to the Beta Israel community, which has preserved its Judaism for thousands of years, and not to the Falashmura whose people are being converted. Rabbi Samin is looking for puppets that he can operate as he wishes. This decision takes us back 40 years and could lead to large demonstrations. Led by the greatest rabbis - Rabbi Ovadia, Rabbi Eliyahu and others. "
"Get off the tree"
Ainao Farda Sanbato, a well-known activist in the Ethiopian community, accuses that the move has now been restarted due to the election and the fact that Shas, of which the minister of religions is a member, wants to strengthen itself in the field of Jewish identity. Criticism against them for misconduct in strengthening Jewish identity.
We are a community that is easy to harm, so it was decided to discredit us in order to gain media fame and attract votes.
If the rabbis of the community are not the authority to find out and approve Jewish certificates, then who is allowed to?
There is no one more familiar with them in the genealogies of the Beta Israel community.
I suggest to the ministry to get down from the tree immediately, and to refrain from casting a stain on a community that has preserved Judaism for thousands of years, while endangering real lives. "
The Ministry of Religious Affairs responded: "The letter from Rabbi Hezekiah Samin, director of the Marriage and Rabbinate Division, speaks for itself and balances the State Comptroller's recommendation with the needs of the Ethiopian community. Rabbi Samin's recommendation is intended to protect members of the community and allow them a transparent and fair process. "They blame a professional recommendation and try to give it a political tone. The Ministry of Religious Affairs maintains a respectful dialogue with members of the Ethiopian community on many issues, including this important issue."