Rabbi Summoned to Questioning for Holding Marriage Ceremony

Rabbi Gilad Kariv:

"5:30 am this morning: Rabbi Dov Hayoun, Rabbi and leader of the Masorti Conservative community in Haifa, woke up to police officers hammering on his front door, questioning him on the “charge” of holding a Huppa (marriage ceremony)! The complaint was filed by the Rabbinical court. Today, at 13:00, Rabbi Hayoun will speak at the President Rivlin's event in honor of Tisha b'Av, alongside key figures and leaders from the entire spectrum of Jewish streams. Never before has the battle waged over the spirit of Judaism in Israel been more pronounced.

"The summons of Rabbi Hayoun to a police investigation is a disgrace! We all know which countries interrogate religious leaders for the crime of addressing the needs of the public according to their faith and conscience. We are certain that this investigation will not bear fruit - Rabbi Hayoun, along with hundreds of other Reform and Conservative Rabbis, hold weddings in Israel every day. But the very essence of this investigation is crossing a red line! We demand that the Attorney General intervene immediately and order an end to this outrageous investigation.

"More importantly, we will continue to marry thousands of couples each year. We will continue to accompany tens of thousands of Israeli families in moments of sorrow and joy. We will continue to fight this ugly wave of fanaticism. And we will continue to fulfill our promise: "Lihyot Am Hofshi b'Artzenu" - to be a free people in our country."





Official comment from the IMPJ:

"The Reform Movement in Israel expresses outrage at the interrogation of Rabbi Dubi Hayoun, of the Conservative Movement, following a complaint filed by the Rabbinate.

"The Reform Movement demands that the Attorney General order the cessation of the disgraceful interrogation directed not only against Rabbi Hayoun, but against hundreds of Conservative and Reform rabbis in Israel, and against the tens of thousands of Israeli couples who chose them to officiate their Jewish ceremony of marriage.

"This investigation is yet another expression of the aggressive behavior of the rabbinical establishment in Israel, supported by government authorities, against Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. We are not deterred by this behavior, and we believe that it will eventually lead to the collapse of the Orthodox monopoly."