The Supreme Court ruled that women must be allowed to sit for the Chief Rabbinate’s ordination exams. Justices Solberg, Barak-Erez, and Grosskopf held that barring women from the exams constitutes unlawful discrimination with no justification. They added that “the state’s treatment of the petitioners, and the group of women they represent, was extremely harsh and even degrading.” Officials in the Ministry of Religious Affairs noted that the ruling would affect only a few dozen women.
From the news report:
Justice Solberg delivered sharp criticism of the state’s conduct in the case and toward the petitioners, ruling that the state must pay them legal costs of 50,000 NIS. In his decision, he wrote: “The handling of the petitioners’ matter was passed between countless government bodies and authorities.” According to him, “The Chief Rabbinate, which is the body originally entrusted with the exams on halakhic knowledge, refused to administer exams for women. As a result, attempts were made to advance an alternative arrangement under the auspices of the Civil Service Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher and Continuing Education, and the Ministry of Welfare, Labor and Social Services—yet all of these bodies refused to address the issue. The handling of the alternative arrangement was then transferred to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and after efforts were invested in advancing that framework, responsibility was once again shifted, this time to the Ministry of Labor.”
