Israeli soldiers killed in the line of duty may now be buried in a military cemetery without a religious ceremony.
Last week’s ruling by the legal adviser to the Defense Ministry came in response to a request by the religious pluralism organization Hiddush, which last summer called on the defense minister and chief of staff to provide an “alternative civilian” burial plot in Israeli military cemeteries.
Rabbi Uri Regev, the head of Hiddush, praised the move in a statement on the organization’s website, saying it “will allow families to bury their loved ones in accordance with their faith and lifestyles.”
According to Regev, similar instructions were issued to the Israel Defense Forces in 1998 by then chief of staff Shaul Mofaz but were never put into practice.
It is a Jewish custom to bury Jews separately from non-Jews. Many soldiers, such as those from the former Soviet Union, are not halachically Jewish. — jta