The Return Of Biblical Law In Israel

Haaretz is reporting that Israeli Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman said he wants a return of biblical law in Israel. According to the news report, Neeman, speaking at a conference in Jerusalem on Jewish monetary laws, said: "Israel should regain the heritage of our Fathers, the primary and ultimate words of the Torah, which contain a complete solution to all the questions we deal with."According to Haaretz, "Neeman added that in a series of steps or stages, the biblical laws given by God through Moses could be reestablished as the law of the land in Israel."Read the news report in its entirety here.This statement has been criticized by many in the opposition parties in Israel, because they believe Neeman is "trying to trade civil law that protects all citizens with a religious law that will favor only those who adhere to that particular religion."Personally, I believe that the re-imposition of ancient biblical laws in Israel is not a good idea. The reason for my disagreement with this idea is because many of these biblical laws reflect an agrarian and patriarchal society, a society that is much different from the society that exists in Israel today. Although many biblical laws dealing with moral issues are relevant even today, replacing the current civil law with religious laws can be very detrimental to the protection of all citizens in Israel, including those who are not religious.Claude MariottiniProfessor of Old TestamentNorthern Baptist SeminaryTags: Biblical Law, Yaakov Neeman

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