A conservative rabbi was arrested, or perhaps just detained, in the early hours of the morning (5:30am, according to the news) for having officiated at private, non-Rabbanut, weddings.

Even if I disagree with this law, the law is the law. Anybody and everybody is welcome to break the law, as long as they know they are risking being arrested or fined or punished in whatever way the law mandates. This Rabbi Hayoun took the risk and was arrested, so I am not going to be overly upset about this.

I do wonder though why this fellow was arrested when so many others are ignored. Maybe it is a new approach by the Rabbanut, or maybe it is selective enforcement. A number of MKs very publicly perform private weddings, as so some Orthodox rabbis, and probably many other people as well, yet there is hardly ever an arrest for this. This might even be the first.

Interestingly, many expressing outrage over this are pointing out the irony of the fact that this rabbi was scheduled to give a lecture today in the President's House about the topic of Sinas Chinam - baseless hatred - and then the Rabbanut goes and reports this guy to the police and has him arrested for such a senseless thing, clearly sinas chinam in action.

While I happen to disagree with the Rabbanut and see no need for them to hold a monopoly on Jewish services, this has nothing to do with sinas chinam. They reported someone who was breaking the law. It is as simple as that. They are protecting their monopoly as it is protected by law. They don't necessarily hate this Rabbi Hayoun, though they might for other reasons, but this is an issue of power and money and control and legalities and not an issue of sinas chinam.