JERUSALEM - The Israeli Supreme Court stepped into a religious dispute Wednesday, ordering the Chief Rabbinate not to allow local rabbis to decide for themselves whether to authorize produce from Jewish land to be sold during the current special sabbatical year.
The case centered on a provision in religious law used to allow Jewish-owned farms to grow and sell kosher produce every seventh year, when the Bible says that Jewish land in Israel should be left fallow. The biblical injunction about the sabbatical, or "shmita" year, is taken literally by many ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, who refuse to buy or consume any produce unless grown by non-Jews on land not owned by Jews.
In the past, the Chief Rabbinate, which controls kosher regulations in Israel, accepted a compromise or provision called "heter mechira," or sales permit. The permit allows Jewish farmers and businesses to "sell" their land formally and temporarily to non-Jews during shmita years, enabling the land to be worked as usual.
But with the increased influence of the ultra-Orthodox on the Chief Rabbinate, this year the policy changed. The Rabbinate authorized "hetermechira," as in the past, but then said that local rabbinical councils could decide for themselves whether to accept it. In cities like Jerusalem, where the ultra-Orthodox make up almost a third of the total population, and a much larger proportion of the Jewish population, "heter mechira" was not to be allowed, and prices for produce were rising while Jewish agribusiness was suffering.
A group of Zionist Orthodox rabbis, Tzohar, had challenged the ruling and said its members would authorize "heter mechira" produce in cities where the local rabbis would not, an obvious threat to the authority of the Chief Rabbinate.
In its ruling Wednesday, the court said that the Chief Rabbinate would not be allowed to provide local autonomy to rabbis because such a practice could cause significant harm to Israel's farmers and the public at large.
Reaction was along religious - more than party - lines, with modern Orthodox groups favoring the decision. Rabbi Michael Melchior, a legislator, and modern Orthodox rabbi, told the newspaper Haaretz that the court ruling thwarts ultra-Orthodox "coercion." Shalom Simhon, the agriculture minister, called the ruling "a victory for sanity."
Zevulun Orlev, leader of the National Religious Party, praised the ruling and said that the Rabbinate "had surrendered to the methods of the ultra-Orthodox and sinned against its government and the soil beneath its feet."
There was no immediate comment from the Chief Rabbinate, but the ultra-Orthodox in Israel are expected to continue to shun produce that is not approved by their rabbis.
On Tuesday, the justice minister, Daniel Friedmann, said he would personally not favor the adoption of an Israeli constitution that banned the Supreme Court from ruling in cases of conflict between the state and religion. Israel has no constitution and has been debating whether to adopt one.
Wednesday was the 12th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an Israeli opposed to his efforts to make peace with the Palestinians by dividing the land. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres attended a ceremony at Rabin's grave in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery. Peres, who stood beside Rabin when he was shot, said that his killer had failed. "The vast majority of Israelis today support, more than ever, Rabin's path," Peres said.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/25/2007