Mickey Gitzin
Ministry of Religious Services supports rabbis who support Levinstein
The ministry's director general wrote that rabbis are permitted to speak their mind; Be Free Israel said to Ynet that the rabbis who receive a salary from the state must be held to the same standards as other civil servants.
A month after an open letter of support, signed by 300 rabbis, was released in support of Rabbi Yigal Levinstein following his infamous "perverts" speech, the Ministry of Religious Services has expressed its support for those rabbis who fall under the ministry's purview.
In response to the demand of Israel Hofsheet – Be Free Israel to hold hearings for rabbis who are connected with the ministry that signed the letter, which include chief rabbis of cities and neighborhoods who all receive salaries, the director general of the Ministry of Religious Services, Oded Plus, replied to the organization that he supported the rabbis.
Rabbi Yigal Levinstein
He wrote, "Rabbis are required to present so-called 'Torah opinions' or 'viewpoints of Jewish law,' even on sensitive topics, and even then they must speak and express an opinion in a proper and respectful way, unless they think that must state something unequivocally that leaves no room for doubt."
The executive director of Israel Hofsheet, Mickey Gitzin, said in an interview with Ynet, "Rabbi Levinstein's statements were serious, but the ministry's director general's statements are many times more serious. He explained that the letter implies that "Rabbi Levinstein's statements are our ministry's policy." Gitzin claimed, "The Ministry for Religious Services is saying here that rabbis are above the law, and not for the first time, and this is very dangerous."
Gitzin said that Plus's letter further implies that "every rabbi is allowed to say anything that he wants, and it doesn't matter whom he hurts…We need to remember that in the case of these rabbis, they're civil servants; they're functionaries."
He clarified, "There's a difference between rabbis who aren't civil servants, who aren't functionaries that receive their salary from a government ministry, and people who are. Just like we wouldn't permit a branch head in the Ministry of Education or Culture to do this, we can't allow rabbis to."
Contacted for comment, the Ministry of Religious Services replied, "The director general of the ministry stands behind the content of his letter."
