Justice Minister: Halakha should be binding law in Israel

Justice Minister: Halakha should be binding law in Israel

By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

Tags: Jewish Law, Israel Halakha

Justice Minister Ya'akov Ne'eman on Monday said he believes Halakha (Jewish law) should be the binding law in Israel, Army Radio reported. "Step by step, we will bestow upon the citizens of Israel the laws of the Torah and we will turn Halakha into the binding law of the nation," said Ne'eman at a Jewish law convention at the Regency hotel in Jerusalem, in the presence of many rabbis and rabbinical judges. "We must bring back the heritage of our fathers to the nation of Israel," Ne'eman said. "The Torah has the complete solution to all of the questions we are dealing with," he added. Advertisement Ne'eman's statements were received with applauds from the convention participants, among them Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Other guests at the event included Likud MK Yisrael Katz, Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger. During the convention, participants presented their Halakhic doctrine as it pertains to various subjects, including the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, as well as acquisitions in the capital market.