ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTER

Safed's Rabbinical Court could close this fall despite a massive demand for its services, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported Wednesday.

The Ministry of Finance is promoting a move that would merge the court with one in Tiberias, the broadcaster said.

According to the report, Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Yosef, visited the court only weeks before, assuring workers the location wouldn't close.

Still, the move is expected to go ahead, according to the report, which added that Enforcement and Collection Authority employees, who were promised offices in the building, recently visited the site.

Several rabbis wrote a letter to the chief rabbi opposing the decision, and the Rabbinical Courts Administration said it is doing everything "in its power" to stop the closure, the report said.

"The matter is currently under discussion with the Government Housing Administration,” the administration added.

A WOMAN seeking divorce in a ‘beit din’ was the sole female in the room until the advent of ‘toanot.’ (Illustrative)
A WOMAN seeking divorce in a ‘beit din’ was the sole female in the room until the advent of ‘toanot.’ (Illustrative) (credit: Laura Ben David, Jewish Life Photo Bank)

Safed court one of 12 nationwide, serves hundreds of thousands

The Finance Ministry, which is ultimately responsible for the decision to close the court, said the Rabbinical Courts Administration had requested the change, but that the ministry was working towards a different outcome.

"Following a request by the Rabbinical Courts Administration to merge the courts in Safed and Tiberias to improve economic and operational efficiency, the Government Housing Administration took steps to implement the request," it said in a statement.

"A new request was recently submitted to examine the possibility of keeping the Safed court open. It is currently being reviewed by the relevant officials in the Government Housing Administration and the Rabbinical Courts Administration."

Israel's rabbinical courts have jurisdiction over marriages and divorces among the country's Jewish population. A carryover from Ottoman-era regulations, there are currently twelve operating rabbinical courts throughout Israel.

The court in Safed serves hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews in the Galilee and the Golan Heights. Its closure would require litigants to travel to the closest available court, located in Tiberias for their legal matters.