Navigate to News section

Israel Attorney General Investigating Rabbis

Perhaps under pressure from you, the reader

by
Dan Klein
December 09, 2010

Earlier today, Liel Leibovitz wrote about the group of Israeli municipal rabbis who last week signed a religious ruling saying Jews should be punished for renting to non-Jews. He called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go beyond his already stern denouncement and instruct Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein “to take immediate action… and make sure [the rabbis] no longer enjoy the prestige and the public funding that comes with their posts.”

A few hours later, the Attorney General, perhaps under pressure from Scroll readers, has indeed ordered an investigation into the rabbis’ letter.

“The Attorney General believes that the comments attributed to the rabbis are seemingly problematic in a number of ways and are not emblematic of proper public behavior,” wrote Weinstein.

“The legal aspect of the incident is more complicated. The attorney general has instructed the relevant parties in his office to check the criminal and disciplinary aspects raised by the rabbis’ statements.”

While the Attorney General does not have the power to discipline the rabbis, he can instruct Israel’s two Chief Rabbis to take action. Legalese aside, this is the first step towards accountability.