Court Delays Naming of IDF Chief Rabbi due to Racist, Sexist Remarks

Israel’s Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction on Monday, November 21, delaying the appointment of Colonel Eyal Karim to the post of Chief Rabbi of the Israeli army (IDF) following past remarks he made against homosexuals and women. The court has requested Karim to file a deposition clarifying his past comments and his current positions. The ceremony inducting the IDF Chief Rabbi was previously scheduled for Wednesday, November 23, but following the court’s injunction it was postponed by the army.

Eyal Karim: "Soldiers can satisfy the evil inclination by lying with attractive Gentile women against their will."

Eyal Karim: “Soldiers can satisfy the evil inclination by lying with attractive Gentile women against their will.” (Headline from Yedioth Ahronoth)

When asked in the past about his opinions concerning homosexuality, Karim commented that gays and lesbians should be treated with love and support, but also referred to them as “sick or deformed,” saying they “must be helped to escape their situation, with a lot of sensitivity and patience.” The rabbi gave a more shocking answer when asked if soldiers were permitted to rape women during a war. Karim replied that, as part of maintaining fitness for the army and the soldiers’ morale during fighting, it is permitted to “breach” the walls of modesty and “satisfy the evil inclination by lying with attractive Gentile women against their will, out of consideration for the difficulties faced by the soldiers and for overall success.”

After Karim was announced as the intended new IDF chief rabbi, members of Knesset and women’s rights organizations called for the appointment to be annulled. The head of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Joint List), said, “Colonel Karim’s ruling on permitting raping non-Jewish women is similar to the fatwa of a murderous organization that’s not so far from Israel’s borders. I will contact the attorney general and oppose the appointment, and I call on female and male members of Knesset to join my request.”