Jewish Law mMst Become Binding

By Amy Teibel
Source: Associated Press
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Courtesy Of The Daily Star

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s justice minister said religious law must become binding in the country, causing a stir Tuesday that reflects the divide between the country’s secular and religious communities.

Yaakov Neeman, an observant Jew, told a rabbinical conference Monday that the Bible contains “a complete solution to all the things we are dealing with.” “Step by step we will bestow religious law upon the citizens of Israel and transform religious law into the binding law of the state,” he said. Israeli newspapers said the rabbis attending the conference applauded him wildly, but some lawmakers on Tuesday attacked his remarks as anti-democratic.

Opposition MP Haim Oron warned of a “troubling process of Talibanization” in Israel.

In the wake of the commotion, Neeman’s office put out a statement Tuesday saying he spoke only “in broad terms” about “the importance of Jewish law in the life of the state.”

The minister’s remarks did not imply “a call to replace state laws with religious laws, either directly or indirectly,” the statement added.