Israel’s chief rabbis were blasted for a public statement decrying abortion in Israel.
In a letter circulated last week to rabbis on the state payroll, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger wrote that abortion “delayed the redemption.” They also wrote that most abortions in Israel were “unnecessary” and were “against Jewish law.”
They cited a study claiming that 30,000 out of the 50,000 Israeli abortions each year violated government regulations.
In response, Irit Rosenblum, head of New Family, an organization fighting to prevent religious influence in marital and birth issues, told the Jerusalem Post that the rabbinate’s initiative constituted a blatant intervention by men in women’s decisions regarding their bodies. — jpost.com