The Minister of Religious Affairs, Matan Kahana, made it clear four months ago that he would support religious councils in which there would be a significant female presence as well as the establishment of elected councils. In an interview with 103FM today, Kahana said of the program: “The aspiration is for a religious council to represent the public, and there is also the issue of introducing women into the system. I intend to appoint women to the positions of chairmen of religious councils.”
A letter sent to the temporary superiors in the religious councils reads: “The term of office of the superiors was extended for the last time until 31.10.2021, inter alia, in order to maintain administrative continuity in the religious councils during the transitional government period and to allow a period of renewal of religious council members.”
The Ministry of Religious Affairs emphasizes that Minister Kahana’s plan was prepared upon taking office, but the minister waited with the publication of the plan until after the holidays because he did not want to harm the livelihoods of religious council heads during the holidays.
The ministry also notes that the formation of religious councils is a ‘craft of thought’ that requires the cooperation of the local authority, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the local rabbinate. With the entry of the Minister of Religious Affairs, they began to work hard to establish the vehicles that reflect the social fabric of the same local authority and express the democratic will of the residents. In the absence of the composition from which the Minister of Religious Affairs is appointed to the Religious Council. Minister Kahana expressed his position on the issue and said: “When I took office, it became clear to me that out of 130 religious councils during the previous term, only 16 vehicles were driven. I intend to drive the vehicles.”
To date, 15 new committees have been established, in which a woman has been appointed chair of a religious council. This is a significant innovation in the religious services system. Following a petition submitted to the High Court, Religiosity.
From now on, the commissioner will only be able to serve for only two terms, and the standard of requirements will correspond to the nature of the position and the scope of the budget. Another innovation is the selection of superiors will only be from a database of superiors that will be published later on the firm’s website. The Ministry of Religious Affairs notes that in the ensembles of the ultra-Orthodox local authorities in the ridges and Kiryat Ya’arim (Telzeston), women were elected to the composition of the religious council, and their choice of the ensemble was authorized and blessed by the city’s ultra-Orthodox rabbis.
The expected changes in the religious councils will affect the replacement of about 90 unelected superiors, some of whom have been in office for many years and feel exhausted, the minister’s office said. Some serve in office without a term of office. The re-selection process will be professional. Raising the threshold of the threshold conditions – a bachelor’s degree is mandatory. All current superiors will be able to enter the pool of candidates.