Israeli Political Players: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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Rabbi Shlomo Chaim haKohen Aviner is the Rosh yeshiva of the Ateret Cohanim yeshiva in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El.^[1] He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.

[edit] Background

Rabbi Aviner was born in 1943 in Lyon, France, and was involved in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, rising to the position of National Director. Rabbi Aviner is a qualified electrical engineer and holds an MA in mathematics.

When he emigrated to Israel in 1966, he settled on Sde Eliyahu, a kibbutz in the northern Jordan valley near Bet She'an. He subsequently went to learn in the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem, under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. Later, he became the rabbi of Lavi and afterwards the rabbi of Keshet in the Golan Heights. Since 1981 he has been the rabbi of Bet El. He served in the IDF and is a lieutenant in the reserves.

[edit] Controversy

Rabbi Aviner has always had an air of controversy surrounding him, due in part to what is perceived as an overly submissive attitude towards the government of Israel and an acceptance of all of its actions. More recently however, three new accusations have arisen. Local women have accused him of sexual harassment,^[2][3][4] while youths involved in protesting the 2005 Gaza Disengagement were allegedly strangled or otherwise attacked by Aviner.

The third and best publicized accusation is that Rabbi Aviner made (possibly intentionally) clearly erroneous rulings with regards to questions of niddah-family purity. The matter was brought before a rabbinic court made up of Rabbis Dov Lior, Mordechai Eliyahu, Avraham Shapira, Nechemyah Zalman Goldberg, and Yaakov Yosef, son of Shas leader Ovadiah Yosef. The court ruled against Rabbi Aviner, prohibiting him from ruling further on the issue of family purity. When he refused to recognize the court's decision his writings were banned.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, prior to the forced mass eviction of Jews from Gush Katif as part of Israel unilateral disengagement plan, Aviner took a minority rabbinical stance that soldiers should not refuse orders to participate with the plan, explaining that the religious issue was the state's responsibility, not the individual's. He continued to publicly oppose the resistance to the eviction plans and in one case took physical action.^[5]

In 2007, in an article about Baruch Marzel's threats over the settler movement, Aviner stated that he felt that the IDF was sincerely evacuating the renewed Homesh settlers and other demonstrators at the site of the abandoned village to protect from future terrorist attacks.^[6] Aviner further distinguished between the IDF's responsibility to protect settlements versus its responsibility for protecting demonstrators, saying that the IDF should do whatever is necessary to protect a settlement to keep it intact, including armed forces, but demonstrators may be evacuated if thought necessary where there is a danger to their lives.^[6]

[edit] Prohibition on women wearing trousers

Rabbi Aviner has ruled that "a woman must always wear modest clothes even when she is alone and in the dark, because the Holy one blessed be he is everywhere. And yes, trousers are a self-prohibition even when a woman is alone."^[7]

[edit] References

1. ^ Odot (Hebrew)
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ The rights of religious women / Voice that won't be silenced
4. ^ Barbara Sofer's To censor or not to censor?
5. ^ Shlomo Wollins. Testimony on Shlomo Aviner [YouTube].
6. ^ ^{a b} Wagner, Matthew. "Marzel vows to mobilize against Ronzki over Shabbat evacuations", Jerusalem Post, 2007-12-04. Retrieved on 2007-12-11. 
7. ^ "Rabbi Aviner: Women must not wear pants even when alone," Ynet, 2 May 2008

[edit] External links

• Sheilot Shlomo - Rav Aviner's official website
• Ateret Cohanim's biography of Shlomo Aviner
• Video lesson of Rabbi Aviner from Zehut