THE
Jewish
OBSERVER www.jewishobservernashville.org
Vol. 90 No. 10
OCTOBER 2025 9 Tishrei - 9 Cheshvan 5786
When Civil Rights Meet Religious Law: The Battle for Choice in Israel By BARBARA DAB
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ita Rosenberg emigrated to Israel from Lithuania in the former Soviet Union as a small child. Years later she and her then husband were seeking an end to their 12-year marriage and as is the practice in Israel, their first stop was Israeli family court. There they agreed on an amicable settlement. But even though they had married outside of Israel in Cyprus, they were surprised to learn they would also need to obtain a religious divorce through the Chief Rabbinate. The result was an inquiry into Rosenberg’s Jewish identity, a complicated and lengthy process and something she flatly refused to tolerate. Rosenberg sought help from a non-governmental Israeli organization called Israel Hofsheet (Freedom), headed
by Uri Keidar, the founder and executive director. The organization advocates for the separation of religion and state. Rosenberg’s case is one example of their work promoting the right to civil marriage outside of the rabbinate. “When the Nazis were after her grandparents, no one had questions to ask,” says Keidar. Israel Hofsheet helped Rosenberg take her case all the way to the Supreme Court and after three years, the decision was made to grant the divorce without the inquiry. “It was powerful because the Supreme Court recognized that the rabbinical court has the authority to grant the divorce without going through the inquiry,” says Keidar. The case took a few more twists and turns but eventually, Rosenberg got what she wanted: a Jewish divorce without the need to clarify her Judaism.
Of note is that in Israel, Keidar says Jews are 80% of the population and of those about 45% are secular, and about another 20-25% who define themselves as traditional but not religious. And while Keidar believes many people are happy to marry in a traditional Jewish ceremony, when it comes to divorce, that is where the problem lies. “Rabbinical courts are courts. They can just decide that you’re not getting divorced. You need to figure it out maybe think about it again.” In another case, the organization helped the family of a 10-year-old girl who plays basketball on a local team. The case centered around a by-law in the Israeli Basketball Association that says if a coed team is playing against a religious team, the girls must be benched. After a two-year legal bat-
tle, the by-laws were changed. “We are dealing with a lot of gender segregation around the idea that there needs to be an acceptance that ultra-orthodox men can’t share a public space with the opposite sex,” says Keidar. These examples highlight a fact not known to many outside of Israel, which is that religious institutions are governmental agencies. Top among those is the Chief Rabbinate, but Keidar says it also includes other ministries. And the legal separations apply to all religions in the country, including Muslim Sharia courts, and 14 different Christian courts. “The same power structure isn’t specifically only relevant to Jews,” he says, “In Israel the religious institutions control your personal status.” The bigger issue, says Keidar, is that Continued on page 2
Pargh Gift Helps Bring National Holocaust Exhibit to Belmont By BARBARA DAB
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hanks to the generosity of the Maria and Bernie Pargh Family Foundation, Belmont University premiered the special exhibit “Some were Neighbors.” The exhibit, which was created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, aims to both clear up the misconception and explore the
ways friends and neighbors displayed courage and complicity in the face of the unimaginable. Belmont is the first university nationwide to host the exhibit. Bernie Pargh said, “Because of the over 100 Jewish students on campus, I felt it was a great thing that Belmont wanted to do, and Maria and I wanted to support it.” He was also pleased to provide the opportunity to share this with some people who might not otherwise see it. “We’re going to get 1,000 people through it who might not have ever seen anything in Washington or Yad Vashem, and it’s time to educate people as much as we can.”•
Pictured l. to r.: Dr. Jon Roebuck, Belmont University president Dr. Greg Jones, Dr. Susan Pendleton Jones, Maria Pargh, Bernie Pargh, Rabbi Mark Schiftan, Harriet Schiftan, Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville CEO Judy Alperin
Holocaust survivor Peter Feigel tells his story at the exhibit opening event. A Publication of the
WWW.JEWISHNASHVILLE.ORG
Humans of October 7th exhibition, page 4
Israeli Racer Robert Shwartzman Finishes Strong in Music City, page 10
Doctors and Lawyers
Doctors & Lawyers Special Section, page 21