Ultra-Orthodox prisoners will likely be permitted to proceed shedding their jumpsuits in favor of a black hat and jacket throughout prayer after Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan stepped in to raise a newly enforced ban on the Haredi garb.
The jail companies started implementing the order over fears the black civilian garb may support inmates in breaking out of jail. Following the intervention of the senior Likud minister this week, they agreed to roll out particular hats and jackets for the prisoners that will be marked and simply distinguished from the guards’ black uniforms, in accordance to Hebrew studies on Wednesday and Thursday.
Until the brand new prison-issued faux-Haredi uniforms are launched, the prisoners will likely be permitted to proceed sporting their very own objects of clothes throughout prayer companies.
Israel’s Religious Affairs Ministry and its Sephardi chief rabbi had issued a protest of the latest enforcement of the directive, condemning the rule as a “violation of religious freedom.”
In a letter despatched on Monday to Erdan, who oversees the service, Religious Affairs Minister David Azoulay (Shas) branded the brand new guidelines a “serious violation of religious freedom, which is a basic constitutional right.”
He was quoting a spiritual opinion by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who additionally despatched a letter to Erdan final week condemning the brand new directive.
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (R) speaks throughout a ceremony earlier than the Passover vacation, April 9, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“According to the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, 91), there is a matter of wearing a special garment for prayer, in order to fulfill the commandment of preparing to approach your God, Israel,” wrote Yosef, in accordance to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabat web site. “Which means that preventing prisoners who are accustomed to wearing a hat and jacket during prayers hurts their freedom of religion and worship.” According to the Haredi web site, among the many prisoners affected by the brand new ban is former Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yona Metzger, who's serving a three-year jail time period for corruption.
The jail service informed Hadashot information earlier this month the order was not new, however didn't clarify why it was now being enforced. It was designed to stop the prisoners from slipping away unnoticed by the guards to escape, studies mentioned.
The directive primarily impacts inmates in Maasiyahu jail’s Orthodox wing 10, which presents eased spiritual restrictions on prisoners. The wing — which is usually seen as extra accommodating to its detainees — additionally previously housed ex-president Moshe Katsav, jailed on rape costs, and former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was incarcerated on graft costs, and a slew of different high-profile inmates.