The High Court of Justice on Monday suspended the appointment of Col. Eyal Karim as IDF chief rabbi until he clarifies controversial comments he has made about women, rape and the LGBT community. Following the court's decision, the IDF postponed the ceremony set to mark the beginning of Karim's term in office that had been set for Wednesday. A new ceremony date has yet to be announced. Karim seemed to suggest in past religious commentary that Jewish soldiers were allowed to rape non-Jewish women in wartime. Responding to a question in 2002 about the Bible's attitude toward rape during war, in the "Ask the Rabbi" section of kipa.co.il, he said that in the interests of maintaining warriors' morale and fighting fitness during armed conflict, it was permitted to "satisfy the evil inclination" by lying with attractive gentile women. Karim has also previously said that women should not testify in court due to their "sentimental" nature and questioned women's roles in the military, including women's service. "The moment soldiers are in uniform, the barriers fall, and because the military causes great damage to the girls' modesty, the thing must be weighed heavily," he wrote in a 2002 post on the same website. He has additionally said that homosexuals should be treated as though they are damaged or disabled, and that they can always "choose to live in accordance with nature." In a 2011 ruling while serving in the military's rabbinate, Karim wrote that it was preferable for a man to sing at military events rather than a woman, and that religious soldiers should be allowed to leave an event if a woman was singing. Some interpretations of Jewish law prohibit men from listening to women singing. He has also stated that orders that contradict Jewish law should not be followed. After the publication of his controversial comments, Karim was summoned for a meeting with the chief of staff, wherein he vowed to respect all people regardless of religion, race or sexual orientation. "We want to see what he has to say, and the way to do that is to issue an injunction and to receive his responses in a deposition," wrote Chief Justice Miriam Naor, "[so we can see] what his stance was, what it is today and whether he retracts [his comments]." The court ruled that if the deposition is not received within 48 hours, Karim's appointment will be nullified. Justice Neal Hendel noted: "This is not a technicality. We must address the role of chief rabbi. What the rabbi said in the question-answer framework -- there are [biblical] verses that are much better and do not say things like that." Justice Salim Joubran added that "when a soldier has a problem, he approaches the rabbi, and I assume that the rabbi thinks before he responds because he respects himself -- he thinks many times before he responds, because his response may influence Jewish soldiers." Sources close to Karim say that he has no plans to retract his earlier comments, rather simply to explain the context in which they were made. The High Court's decision sparked a firestorm among the right. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Karim's appointment was "more than appropriate." He added, "Everyone I have spoken to has spoken about Rabbi Karim in superlatives. He was the commander of the Paratroopers commando unit and is a religious authority and knowledgeable in the [Jewish] sources." Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett said, "The High Court judges decided that they know better than the chief of staff when it comes to appointing commanders," while Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel called the injunction "scandalous." Ariel went on to say, "Dear Rabbi Karim, please do not agree to this silencing and do not retract religious rulings that you believe in. Today, it is you; tomorrow, it will be all of us." Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan also disapproved of the ruling, saying, "The High Court is mistaken and thinks that its own considerations are better than the considerations of the chief of staff and the defense minister, who, despite the recycled claims against Rabbi Karim, stand -- and I with them -- behind his worthy appointment." Likud MK Yehuda Glick said, "It's important that we have a strong, good and trustworthy High Court, so we must be very careful not to lose that trust. Today, the High Court crossed a clear read line when it interfered in religious rulings and when it interfered in the appointment of the IDF chief rabbi. This causes the court to lose its trustworthiness, and to my deep regret, this will come back to the High Court like a boomerang, and that is a great shame." Shas also released a statement on the decision: "We are concerned by the attempt to interfere with the rabbis' considerations. This is a dangerous precedent that could lead to a loss of public trust." The Tzohar rabbinical organization stated that "a rabbi in Israel should be measured by his skills and abilities regarding the Torah and his conduct with soldiers. The IDF chief rabbi is not chosen based on where he lives or his worldview. The High Court should retract its decision and cancel its [pending] nullification [of the appointment]." The organization's co-founder, Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, added that "the great danger of the High Court's ruling regarding Rabbi Karim is that it harms the High Court itself. It is losing its status as the body that settles conflicts and protects human rights and is turning itself into [a supporter of] one of the sides." Former Chief Military Rabbi Avichai Rontzki also weighed in on the controversy, telling Israel Hayom, "The decision opens the chief of staff to mockery and derision. The comments being attributed to Rabbi Karim were not said by him. He never said we need to rape non-Jewish women in wartime, rather he provided commentary on Torah portions. He was not speaking about our time. His comments [belong to] a discussion meant for a school of biblical study. They should not have been said because the majority of the public does not understand discussions on biblical study, and what from within them are parts of Jewish law and what is theoretical." On Monday, members of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party protested outside Justice Naor's home, carrying signs with slogans including, "Is the High Court willing to approve the Torah-" and "High Court, a cloaked dictatorship -- return the power to the people." At the same time, some in the Opposition welcomed the court's decision. Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon, who was among the petitioners to the High Court against the appointment, said, "The High Court's decision will not allow the institution of the IDF chief rabbi to fall into the hands of a homophobe, a racist and a xenophobe." Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg added, "A man who preaches rape cannot be IDF chief rabbi." Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova issued a statement saying, "We must block the path of dark, extremist rabbis into the ranks of the IDF and cast them out to the margins of Israeli society. It is up to the chief of staff not to wait and to immediately cancel Rabbi Karim's appointment to the position of IDF chief rabbi."
