High Court Demands Rabbi's Office Respond on Women's Exam Status

Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the Chief Rabbinate and the Ministry of Religious Services to urgently respond to a petition regarding the upcoming certification exams for rabbis. The organization Atid filed an urgent petition demanding that women be allowed to take the exams scheduled for the month of Cheshvan and that specific accommodations be made for pregnant and nursing women. Supreme Court Justice Khaled Kabub instructed the Rabbinate and the Ministry to provide a swift answer by Thursday at 11:30 AM regarding when a response to the petitioner's request can be expected.

The petition was submitted just days before the exams are set to begin next week. This follows an announcement by the Rabbinate that exam locations would be split, with men testing in the Jerusalem International Convention Center and women in a separate Ministry of Religious Services building. Atid's chairman and founder, Rabbi Shaul Farber, stated that the Rabbinate, as a state-funded public body, must operate according to law and proper administrative procedures. He expressed concern that candidates are facing complete uncertainty about exam conditions and their entitlements less than a week before the tests, which he believes led to a compromise of exam integrity in the past.

Attorney Tamna Guttel from Atid's legal department added that the Rabbinate appears to be delaying and ignoring repeated requests, leaving candidates in uncertainty. She asserted that they will not allow an infringement on women's rights to equality and freedom of occupation, nor a repeat of past failures that hindered women's success and violated previous court rulings. Guttel welcomed the court's swift decision demanding a clear and immediate response, given the Rabbinate's failure to reply.