The chairman of the Knesset’s Justice Committee has drawn up a bill designed to increase the influence of Jewish religious law (halacha) in the rulings of judges.
In recent months MK Nissan Slomiansky (Habayit Hayehudi) has been promoting this legislation, which would set up an institute to “translate” ancient Jewish legal literature into contemporary legal language. This material would be available to judges when making their decisions, and also to lawyers.
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Slomiansky is aware of concerns raised by the proposed bill. “The law doesn’t stipulate that everyone will have to go to the mikveh (ritual bath) or cover their head,” he said. “There is no intention of educating anyone to become religious and lay teffilin (phylacteries). There is an answer for everyone here. From a social standpoint old Hebrew law is more advanced than current enlightened systems. Social demands in Hebrew law are stricter.”
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Saturday, February 27, 2016
Ancient Jewish and modern Israeli law
POLITICS AND LAW: Bill Seeks to Increase Role of Jewish Law in Israel's Legal System. Justice Committee chair wants to set up an institute to 'translate' ancient Jewish legal literature into contemporary legal language accessible to judges and lawyers (Jonathan Lis, Haartez).
