Rabbis, as individuals and an institution, have always held a central role in maintaining Israel’s Jewish character. With rabbis controlling key Israeli civil institutions, including marriage, burial and divorce, their rulings often have overtly political implications, directly affecting life for Israel’s Jewish citizens.
While Israel’s older generation appears to be increasingly skeptical of rabbis’ ability to adapt their rulings to the modern Jewish experience, the majority of Israeli youth have surprisingly expressed increasing faith in rabbinic decisions on politically contentious issues.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute’s Israeli Democracy Index 2011, 55% of young adults (ages 18–34) said that rabbinical rulings on controversial political issues were justified. 33% of the middle-aged populace (35–54) are in favor of the rulings and a mere 12% of adults (55+) supported the rabbis’ decisions.
These trends and other currents influencing rabbinical authority today will be addressed by religious leaders and political thinkers from across the Israeli spectrum at the book launch of Rabbis and Rabbinate: The Challenge, edited by Professor Yedidia Z. Stern and Dr. Shuki Friedman, sponsored by the Mishkenot Sha’ananim Ethics Center and the Israel Democracy Institute.