Weekly Update 26

February 21, 2025

Hello, everyone.

Today’s newsletter will focus on an organization that those who do not lead a religious lifestyle are unfamiliar with. At most, you may have visited it before your wedding to register for marriage. However, it is worth getting to know it, as it operates in nearly every community, is funded by all of our tax dollars, and is selected by the council members. A process that concluded in Zichron just this week. A process that, in my opinion, was improper, even though the council’s legal advisor approved it. And I’ll explain why here.

Summary

In an improper process, the majority on the council disqualified our representative from the “Lema’an HaMoshava” party from serving on the Religious Council.

The representative we presented is Liat Malka—an ultra-Orthodox woman with groundbreaking professional achievements who served as a member of the Religious Council in Zichron Yaakov during the last term in which it was in session. During that term, Liat Malka led significant initiatives to promote transparency and good governance (it’s worth reading below what she uncovered).

Rafi Mena, leader of the ultra-Orthodox community in Zichron Yaakov and a close associate of Eli Abutbul. The man whom rumors say determines everything that happens in the Zichron community—including whom the community will vote for as head of the local authority—tried to influence us during the first round of voting to withdraw Liat Malka’s candidacy, but met with a complete refusal from our party. This is related to what she revealed about him.

Voting against her raises questions about the commitment to representing activist, professional women who work to maintain public order and make religious services accessible to residents, and who view the connection between the different communities as a central component of shared life. This involves public funds, and we are committed to transparent conduct in accordance with proper administrative rules.

We did not give up. We attempted to challenge the illegal procedure by appealing to the Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The Council’s Legal Advisor, however, continued to argue that the procedure was proper.

We decided not to file a petition with the court against the procedure (even though, in my estimation and based on the legal advice we received, it would have been accepted). We did this so as not to delay the new council, which must begin operating in light of the negative events unfolding within the Religious Council.

We did not give up on our demand for a candidate who would ensure proper administration in the Religious Council—Attorney Pini Maman is our representative who was elected to the council this week. We wish him success, as he has a great deal of work ahead of him.

And here is the explanation:

Religious Council—a state authority whose role is to provide Jews with comprehensive religious services:

• Kosher certification for local businesses.
• Opening marriage files for Jewish couples for pre-wedding counseling and more.
• Construction, renovation, and ongoing maintenance of mikvaot.
• Budgets for Torah-based cultural activities, as well as support for religious institutions and those in need.
• Responsible for funding and establishing an eruv to permit carrying on Shabbat within the community.
• Handling all matters related to burial and cemeteries

In some municipalities, there is no religious council, and services are provided by a department within the local authority that handles all such services. For example, in the Modiin-Maccabim-Reut area, in Shoham, and elsewhere. Thus, the council exercises direct oversight over the provision and management of religious services in the community.

In Zichron Yaakov, a religious council consisting of 7 members has always operated; these members are appointed for a fixed term of five years, following local elections.

The Religious Council consists of 7 members—3 representatives of the Minister, 3 representatives of political partys, and 1 representative of the local rabbi. The Council plenary elects the 3 representatives of the Minister and the 3 representatives of the partys.

According to the law and the guidelines of the Director General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Religious Council must include at least two women; a council member must be Jewish but is not required to be observant. The council must include representation for all partys according to a formula established by law. Our party, which has three council members, is entitled to one representative on the Religious Council.

Our party has decided that Liat Malka will be our representative. Liat Malka has held senior positions; she is a social entrepreneur and an expert in managing systemic change processes. She holds a master’s degree in public policy (with honors) from the Hebrew University, and is a graduate of the “Maoz” program and the Mandel Leadership Institute. She specializes in building multi-sector partnerships and bridging gaps between communities. She is the first female member of the ultra-Orthodox Religious Council and works to advance women into senior positions in the public sector and within the ultra-Orthodox community.

Liat, who served as a member of the Religious Council in Zichron Ya’acov during its last term, led significant initiatives to promote transparency and good governance, including regulating the employment of relatives, publishing tenders, holding meetings, and addressing conflicts of interest between council employees and their private business activities as required by law.

Liat Malka exposed conduct bordering on corruption, and the council auditor’s review found improper conduct and a lack of public transparency within the Religious Council. Liat prevented the continued payment of wages to Rafi Mena, who, while working at the Religious Council, was illegally engaged in additional occupations involving conflicts of interest. In addition, the employment of his wife and sister-in-law, who worked at the Religious Council, was terminated. Unsurprisingly, Rafi Mena, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox community in Zichron Yaakov and a close associate of Eli Abutbul— The man whom rumors say determines everything that happens in the Zichron Yaakov community—including who the community will vote for as head of the local authority—tried to pressure us during the first round of voting to withdraw Liat Malka’s candidacy, but met with a complete refusal from our party.

She is an excellent candidate whom every law-abiding resident should support for a seat on the religious council.

In a surprising vote, the majority of council members present at the meeting voted against her—the council head, council members from the ultra-Orthodox party, and three female council members (Roni Kenig, Dganit Azoulay, and Odela Kadmi) voted against her candidacy. This decision raises questions about the commitment to representing activist, professional women who work to uphold public order and make religious services accessible to residents. This involves public funds, and we are committed to transparent conduct in accordance with proper administrative rules. Most of the council members who voted against her did not explain their vote.

We did not give up. We sought external legal counsel from an expert on the matter and were explicitly told that a majority of council members cannot disqualify a candidate from a party unless there are substantive and relevant allegations against her. I will note that no such allegations were raised during the meeting. They simply voted against her.

I proceeded to contact the Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, hoping she would intervene with the Council’s Legal Advisor, Attorney Barzilai, who had approved the selection process conducted during the meeting he attended and explained what to do.

The legal advisor of the Ministry of Religious Affairs replied to me immediately. To my delight, when I contact legal advisors of government ministries, they respond to me immediately. This is in contrast to the council’s legal advisor, Attorney Barzilai, who does not respond to my inquiries. He apparently does not like being scrutinized.

I won’t detail all the correspondence I had over the course of about a week with the legal advisor of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who spoke with the Council’s legal advisor. I’ll just say that she never wrote to me that the procedure led by the Council’s legal advisor was lawful. Had she written that, there would have been no need for all the correspondence and clarifications that lasted a week. On the contrary, she wrote to me: “As long as the party is indeed entitled to independent representation, according to the partyal allocation, and the representative does indeed represent the party and/or there are no substantive/factual claims justifying the non-approval of that representative—I foresee no difficulty in the matter.”

The Council’s Legal Advisor, Attorney Barzilai, continues to argue that the procedure was lawful. Why? Because, according to him, this is how it was done during Ziv Deshe’s previous term as well. However, a year ago, a directive was issued by the Director General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs stipulating that a majority in the Council cannot disqualify a candidate from another party.

It should be noted here that in the elections for the Religious Council four years ago, the Council’s legal advisor ruled that “one side cannot disqualify representatives of the other side”—what caused the legal advisor to “abandon” his own words? To date, he has not explained this. Incidentally, even then the majority (which was against Ziv) disqualified Liat Malka, our party’s candidate.

We gave up: Our party decided not to file a petition with the court against the improper procedure in which Liat Malka’s candidacy was disqualified. I have no doubt that the petition would have been accepted. But filing the petition would have delayed the appointment of the new Religious Council for a year or more. And the community cannot afford that—given the negative events currently unfolding in the Religious Council, there is an urgent need for a new council that will be more diligent in upholding the law there. And that is exactly who Attorney Pini Maman is—our party’s representative. He was elected unanimously by the council this past Tuesday.

We have not relented in our demand for proper administration: our elected representative—Attorney Pini Maman—is well-versed in the laws and regulations governing religious councils. He worked with Liat Malka during her years as a council member and represented her legally before the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the local authority. In representing her, he uncovered instances of improper administration. Our party will work closely with him to ensure that the Religious Council operates in accordance with the law and with full transparency toward the public.

We wish him success, as he has a lot of work ahead of him.

Dr. Limor Zar-Gutman, Esq.

The “Lema’an HaMoshava” Party

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