2005-05-13-two chief rabbis

By Ira Sharkansky

Yona Metzger, is said to have benefited from free hotel services for himself and his family. When he was appointed as chief rabbi, there were allegations of sexual harassment involving young men and women. For some details about these charges and manipulations involved in Metzger's selection as Chief Rabbi, see http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=287165&contrassID=1.

There is not exactly a media boycott on Rabbi Metzger; but the previous Chief Rabbi, Israel Meir Lau, is more likely to appear as a commentator when an issue demands an authoritative and traditional voice.

We have not heard anything lately about Rabbi Metzger's sex life or his hotel bill. Someone on high may have decided that the charges about sex are old and doubtful, and that the hotel bill is too trivial for a major scandal. Perhaps it is better to let the Rabbi serve out his term under a cloud, than endure another downpour on a country already bothered by weightier problems.

More prominent is a scandal that broke only last week, involving the Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar. The characters include Meir, a rebellious older son who left the family as a teenager, has tattoos, and is well known to the police; Ayala, an 18-year old daughter who was found communicating with an ultra-Orthodox young man in an internet chat room; and Mazal, the rabbi's wife, who is said to have been present when Meir and two Arabs he hired to join him in kidnapping the young man beat him, cut off his ear locks, and ripped apart his yarmulke. The Rabbi's role in all of this remains unclear. The police investigation of him began before the Memorial Day-Independence Day observances, and was suspended so he could take part in the ceremonies. One report is that the Rabbi condemns the action, and says that he was sleeping when the beating took place in his apartment. Another report is that Meir told the Rabbi that he had the offending young man, and was about to deal with him. For details, see http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1115346127824.

In the Rabbi's culture, there is segregation of the sexes in all contexts and young people do not seek their own marriage partners. When the story began, ultra-Orthodox commentators expressed their confidence in the Rabbi and his wife (charges must be a fabrication of the media or the rebellious son), and surprise that the family had not dealt with the problem in a more conventional manner. Common in such circumstances is sending the girl outside of the country, and marrying her quickly to a suitable man in a distant congregation.

So far Rabbi Amar has asserted that he had no knowledge of the issue. He prays that his rebellious son will soon find the path back to a proper life. When asked about internet chat rooms, he asked, what is the internet? His community idealizes those who do not use cell phones, radio, television, computers, and all newspapers except that published by the congregation. It is more difficult to suppress romance.

The attachment is the Ha'aretz cartoon of May 9th. Rabbi Amar, waiting his turn with the detectives, asks "How are they?" Rabbi Metzger responds, "One Sephardi, one Ashkenazi."

During the coming week a committee including both Chief Rabbis is scheduled to select candidates for positions as judges in religious courts. These are distinguished appointments that decide, among other things, cases of divorce. The Minister of Justice does not want a committee selecting judges when two leading members of the committee are under investigation by the police for criminal activities. Reports are that Rabbi Amar has agreed to a suspension of the selection process, for the sake of appearances, on condition that the suspension last only for 10 days. Check then with Israeli web sites to see if both Chief Rabbis have been cleared of all suspicions.

Not all our religious leaders concern themselves with free meals or family purity. One quarter of the front page of a recent Ha'aretz is an ad by "The Rabbinical Congress for Peace," signed by heads of yeshiva, members of the Torah Council of Sages, and "Pious Geniuses" who call for opposition to the Israeli government that is about to exile Jews from their homes in the Holy Land. Those who wish to further this cause may send their contributions to POB 56131 in Tel Aviv.

Sharkansky is a member of the political science department at Hebrew University in Jerusalem