Bond Franchise! Take Notice!

[eumelia]

Does everyone know what a "Honey Trap" is?

For those of you who do not, a "Honey Trap" (according to the various books, movies and tv shows) is a when a woman uses her "feminine wiles" to seduce a man and extort the information out of him using sexual favours, or blackmailing him into giving the information due to committing unspeakable sexual acts.

It will generally be part of a sting.

In fiction, it seems to be the staple of the female spy. I'd say James Bond often worked as a Honey Trap because he always managed to get info out of the women he slept with. But the double standard works double time when it comes to good ole' Double-O.

Why am I mentioning this?

Well, if there was any doubt this country was spiralling away from rational thought and desires to sink into backward theocracy is when the News deems a report from a Rabbi regarding the conduct of female spies to be printable. A report written for a publication published by an institution dedicated to merging Halachic Jewish Law into contemporary modern life.

Let me just say, EW!

For the Love of God:

A new halachic study ruled that seducing an enemy agent for the sake of national security is an important mitzvah

You're damn right I emphasised that!
A mitzvah!
A mitzvah?!?!
Fucking hell. In case there was any confusion, the use of the word "mitzvah" means that the act falls under the notion of moral obligation.

This Rabbi has stated that female security operatives are morally obligated to seduce the enemy!

For the love of all that is unholy does no one see anything wrong with Israeli security institutions getting religious carte blanche to whore out their operatives!

The ruling, made by Rabbi Ari Shvat, was included in the latest issue of "Tehumin," an annual collection of articles about Jewish law and modernity, which is published by the Zomet Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to seamlessly merging Halachic Judaism with modern Israeli life.

*vomits*

"Naturally, an unmarried operative should be preferred in 'honey trap' cases, but if there is no other choice but to use a married women… her husband should divorce her and marry her again after the fact," the rabbi writes.

Unfortunately, Shvat also rules that if a husband was unable to divorce his wife prior to her mission, he would have to do it afterwards, since according to the Halacha she would have committed adultery – even if it was for the sake of a national cause.

Can this Rabbi please be fired and stripped of his... right to be called a human being? Like, now-ish!

The thing is, this misogyny isn't even a surprise. If you know anything about Orthodoxy, moderm or not, the hatred of women, the marginalization of the experience and the reduction of their role to brood mare is apparent in the written law, even if in practice Orthodox women have a bigger role in the social reality.

What I find disturbing is that this is published in what is the most widely distributed subscription Newspaper in the country (and the most read online News outlet, YNET) - it's little more than a thick tabloid in my mind (and actually based a lot of its design on the "Daily Mirror"... yeah), but that's beside the point. The point is, this Newspaper is secular and not officially affiliated with religion or any particular Party politics.

So what does it mean that the rulings, which legally speaking, have zero standing in the law, is published with such authority in the most widely distributed Newspaper in the country?

Oh, snap.

H/T to R, for providing the link.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Hmmm, wonder if this applies to male spies seducing men, too - it's for the good of the country!

No, really, if it's a mirror of the Daily Mirror, it's just out to simultaneously exploit and shame women. So horrible that this is the mainstream.

[eumelia]

I'm just seriously, seriously concerned that religious rulings are getting this kind of News, you know.

[lilacsigil]

Religious rulings about sex and spies! We get Papal pronouncements on "sexy" issues published here, and I know it's not the same thing, but it's the same prurient/punishing content.

[madelienegrey]

I think my head just exploded. Guh.... Ugh. :/

[eumelia]

Indeed.

[schemingreader]

Religious rulings should be news. This one is a red herring, however. The biggest thing going in religion in Israel right now is the status of thousands of people who underwent Orthodox conversion through the state's own religious courts. Another story that's interesting to Jews in the US is just what Jewish women can be arrested for doing near the Western Wall. (Hint: it involves prayer and study, not sleeping with the enemy.) This story is titillating and good for a laugh, but it doesn't abridge anyone's religious freedom or change anyone's access to religious schools or cemeteries.

[eumelia]

Thanks for the reminder.

I think religious rulings should be accessible and public, I don't think they belong in the News. That religion has such huge legal ramifications on the people who live here is wrong.

[the_future_modernes]

right now is the status of thousands of people who underwent Orthodox conversion through the state's own religious courts.

Is that now being called invalid?

[eumelia]

Yep.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=187360&R=R2

And a couple of years ago (which I wrote about and will find asap), which a quick google brings up.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3538630,00.html

[schemingreader]

In May, 2008, the rabbinical high court was deciding a divorce case and ruled that the wife's conversion had been invalid. In their decision, they called into question all the conversions performed by the state's own religious court, headed by Rabbi Haim Drukman since 1999. Rabbi Drukman is an Orthodox rabbi but he's not part of the extreme right of the Orthodox movement.

The State of Israel recognizes all conversions for purposes of immigration under the Law of Return, including Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist conversions. For getting married, being buried, having a divorce, or using the state religious schools, people have to be recognized as Jews by the state rabbinical council, who only recognize Orthodox conversions. Except now they don't recognize many of those conversions, either.

At the moment, two converts are petitioning the secular supreme court for a determination of their status. This of course won't do much of anything because what authority does the secular state have over the religious courts? If a secular court says these women are Jewish, it's like me saying it. I mean, I'm right,and they would be right, too--they converted in good faith according to valid Jewish law. But the people controlling Jewish institutions don't think so and are worried about people encroaching on their purview.

This matters a lot more than it should because of the role of Israel in the diaspora. Orthodox rabbis who used to perform conversions in the US have stopped because the Israeli rabbinate has said they only accept conversions from certain religious courts.

This whole thing is pretty much unprecedented in Jewish history. I suppose in Spinoza's time when there was the same kind of moral panic about who was really a Jew, it might have happened, but I don't think there were many people trying to convert to Judaism. It wasn't until the 19th century that any rabbi ruled a person had to commit to performing ALL mitzvot on point of conversion, either.

At the same time, there's a bill in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, to change the secular Law of Return to only allow certain converts to be eligible. We're in a period where people are Jewish for purposes of immigration who won't be considered Jewish inside the state. There have also been a lot of Jews from the US (which is after all the largest Jewish community in the world) who have had their Jewishness challenged when they tried to get married in Israel.

[roga]

Jesus Christ, what the fuck.

[eumelia]

As schemingreader said, it's a red herring, and yet!

Seriously concerning, that this is being reported in this manner and that the actual issues are not. I'm feeling a bit silly for focusing on this now.

[the_future_modernes]

Yeah no. His God needs to have a serious talk with him, cause just no.

[eumelia]

Or he could just shut up.

I am seriously, seriously disturbed by all of this.

[ajnabieh]

seamlessly merging Halachic Judaism with modern Israeli life.

Really? It strikes me (as a religious person) that religious rulings should always be a little out of step with common practice--that this is why religion exists, to nudge us towards being better/more in line with divine will. If all you're going to do is fuck around with religious law until you can justify whatever you want, then I kinda think ur doin' it rong, you know?

I mean, apart from the fact that this is some hilarious fuckery right here. The divorce thing is just...o_0?

[eumelia]

The divorce thing is deranged!

[ajnabieh]

Do you mind if I send this to my students? I'm teaching a course on gender and politics in the Middle East, and I think some of them would be interested in this. No hardcore angry Zionists likely to leave mean comments among them.

[eumelia]

If a post is public, then it can be seen by anyone.

Nope, I don't mind :)

all that realy needs to be said....

[amethystfirefly]

D: D: D:

[silveradept]

...thaaaaat's...

...WTF. Obligated to do that, then he's obligated to divorce and remarry her, and...wow. And this isn't a fringe splinter group, right? This is as mainstream as it gets?

[eumelia]

Pretty mainstream, yes.

The "mitzvah" thing is really outrageous.

[silveradept]

Yeah. It provokes the Inigo Montoya response. And provides at least one more instance where you can point to all of the Abrahamic religions and say the word "terrorist" and it will stick appropriately.