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Israeli military to allow non-Orthodox rabbis to officiate funerals

In major departure from past practice, IDF agrees to change rules governing funerals for fallen soldiers. Move comes in response to legal challenge.

by  Hanan Greenwood
Published on  07-04-2019 19:03
Last modified: 07-05-2019 11:33
Israeli military to allow non-Orthodox rabbis to officiate funeralsMiri Tzachi

The military cemetery at Mount Herzl | Photo: Miri Tzachi

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The Israel Defense Forces will allow non-Orthodox rabbis to officiate military funerals for fallen soldiers, ending a longstanding practice that only rabbis from the Military Rabbinate, all of which are Orthodox, can perform such services.

The decision was announced Thursday in response to a legal challenge by non-Orthodox streams that called the exclusion of non-Orthodox rabbis discriminatory.

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Under the compromise reached with the petitioners, families of fallen soldiers would get to decide whether the ceremony would be officiated by a military rabbi, the default option, or whether to have it run by religious figures from other Jewish streams.

The new rules mean that Conservative and Reform rabbis, including women, will have the same status as Orthodox rabbis in military funerals even though they are not officially recognized by the state.

However, the military will still be allowed to veto a family's request if their choice of a rabbi would drastically change the burial procedures or undermine the sanctity of the chosen cemetery.

Tags: ConservativeIDFIsraelJewishmilitaryOrthodoxRabbisReform

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