Rabbi Shlomo Aviner deserves cherem

According to recent statments made by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, "A woman must not serve as a knesset member.  It's immodest."  He went on to also say that women's right to vote should be banned, but in this day that could be overlooked.

A zinger of a quote in which he tries to explain himself:

"It's not just about arriving at the voting station, placing the vote and going home.  That's fine.  The problem is that there are events in which women must know who to vote for, and these are public events which are immodest and bring men and women together."

Mind you, this Rabbi is masquerading as a leader of the religious Zionist community when in fact he has openly adopted some of the most backward and misogynistic positions of the most extreme Chareidi communities.

I would also remind readers (see posts here and here) that this is the same Rabbi who openly endorsed the blurring of the picture of a murdered female terror victim in a publication that is distributed to synagogues in Israel... because it is immodest.

The laughable part of his most recent statements is that he tries to justify them by referencing the teachings of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook, one of the forefathers of Religious Zionism. 

My friend and fellow blogger Jameel pointed out some time ago that Rabbi Aviner ruled against reading one of Rav Kook's recently translated books for the simple reason that it had not been edited by Rav Kook's sons.  Rabbi Aviner said, "You will misunderstand Rav Kook if you read an unedited version of it.  Rav Kooks unedited works are like unripe fruit.  It is like a rooftop without a guardrail, and one could fall..."

If a self-described leader has so little faith in those he perports to lead, he should admit his failure as a leader and step aside.

Let me say for the record that this so-called Rabbi does not represent any form of religious Zionism of which I would want to be a part.  I would not eat any food for which he vouched for the kashrut (including in his home), and I would consider any religious ruling he made non-binding unless subject to the review and 'haskama' (concurrence) of a more learned Rabbi whose judgement has been tested and found to be sound.

In fact, for expressing such hateful and derisive/divisive statements which would be more at home in Iran than Israel, I would say he deserves Cherem; to be cut off from the Jewish community which he strives so mightily to tear assunder.  I would also not want to pray in any synagogue which knowingly gave him so much as an aliyah to the Torah.

This man's ideas represent the speck of decay that has the potential to rot the entire bushel of fruit.