New reforms look to chip away Israeli chief rabbis' power

Israel’s new government has taken aim at the country’s powerful rabbinical authorities with a pair of religious reforms that would chip away at the tight grip of the country’s chief rabbinate on many aspects of daily life

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel’s new government has taken aim at the country’s powerful religious establishment with a pair of reforms that would chip away at the tight grip of the country's chief rabbinate on many aspects of daily life.

The reforms, which address rules on kosher food and conversions to Judaism, make only modest changes to current practices. But they have nonetheless sparked protests and outrage from religious leaders, underscoring the rabbis' power and the deep divide between Israel's observant and secular communities.

The Israeli rabbinate, backed by powerful ultra-Orthodox allies in parliament, have for decades wielded a tight grip over areas like weddings, divorces and burials. The formation of a new government last year without any ultra-Orthodox parties cleared the way for the reforms.

“For many years no change or reform regarding religious services was carried out whatsoever,” said Shuki Friedman, vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, who helped draft one of the reforms. “Now there is a government that is succeeding to change that.”