The Left quashes freedom of speech and rabbinical appointment

The Supreme Court has frozen the appointment of Rav Karim to the post of Chief Rabbi of the IDF. They are freezing the appointment until he issues a statement to the court retracting his opinions previously stated that they consider problematic. Rav Karim had previously said something about the topic of "Eishet Yifat Toar" that was taken to be perceived as if Rav Karim condones the rape of non-Jewish female captives. as well, Karim has said that women should not be joining the army, and that women should not sing at army events, as these are both against halacha.

Regardless of his opinion and what I think of it, I see no place for the courts to freeze his appointment based on this. He did not do anything illegal, he has not committed any immoral act nor incited anybody to act in a certain way - the courts are now acting as thought police and deciding that people who hold certain beliefs are to be banned form certain positions.

I do not even want to get into whether his opinion is valid or not. Whether it is or is not, the courts freezing his appointment is wrong.

Perhaps he should never have been appointed, and that is on those who appointed him. However, being that he was appointed, not liking something he said, especially in his role as a rabbi and what he said not actually being radical in any way - but even if it had been, I see no place for the courts to get involved just based on him having stated what he understood to be the halacha and decide that he cannot have the job.

I see this as a sad day for Israel. This is something that will be damaging to the freedom of speech, it will be damaging to rabbis and clerics who will be afraid to state their real opinions on various matters thinking it might come back to hurt them one day, and it will be damaging to the public that accepts such thought police as acceptable. And it is the "Left" applauding their victory by employing the thought police, when the Left are the ones that are supposed to be defending freedom of speech - meaning, they are surely allowed to have opposed the appointment, but using the courts to freeze the appointment just based on something he said rather than on him having broken a law is something the Left should never have gotten involved in..

------------------------------------------------------

Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------