List Has 1800 Persons Ineligible for Marriage According to Halacha

The Religious Affairs Ministry confirmed today the existence of a list of some 1800 persons ineligible for marriage recording to halacha but insisted that it was not compiled in violation of the law and had no sinister intent.

The disclosure was made by David Glass, director general of the Ministry of Religious Affairs after Justice Minister Haim Zadok informed the Cabinet yesterday that he had ordered the Attorney General to investigate the matter. Glass met with Attorney General Aharon Barak yesterday for what was described as an initial review of the statistical breakdown of the list.

Glass told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the list is circulated to all marriage registrars and is periodically updated. He said it was compiled on the basis of information from two sources-judgements by rabbinical courts and inquiries by marriage registrars who are accredited officials under the marriage and divorce ordinance.

Interior Minister Yosef Burg of the National Religious Party claimed yesterday that his ministry has no such list and that as far as he knows, neither does the Religious Affairs Ministry. Burg is acting Minister of Religious Affairs in the absence of Yitzhak Raphael who is abroad.

DENIES LIST IS A ‘BLACKLIST’

Burg “clarified” his statement today, saying he did not intend to deny that a list of marriage ineligibles existed but was referring to allegations that it was a “blacklist” containing information culled by devious, underhand and anti-constitutional means. Glass told the JTA that the list was an essential instrument in administering the marriage and divorce ordinance which, in Israel, is the exclusive domain of the Orthodox rabbinate and the rabbinical courts.

Glass disclosed that the majority of names in the list are those of male co-respondents in divorce suits for adultery who, according to halacha, may not marry the women with whom they allegedly had extra-marital affairs. He said another major category consisted of non-Jews who the rabbinate had reason to believe might try to marry Jews before converting fully to Judaism, meaning according to Orthodox rites. He said there were no “mamzerim” (bastards) on the list.

Barak was instructed by the Justice Minister to submit a comprehensive dossier on the list and its functions to the Cabinet. He told the JTA his report should be ready within a month.

Political observers here see a major coalition crisis looming over the list. The Independent Liberal Party has decided to re-submit its civil marriage bill to the Knesset in light of the new disclosure. The ILP is supported by the leftist Yaad and Moked factions and other groups seeking the establishment of civil marriage in Israel as an alternative for couples denied marriage rites by the rabbinical authorities. The NRP is bitterly opposed to the bill.