Zionist Group Criticizes New Israeli Prayer Book

A new siddur (prayer book) issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry omits a prayer for the welfare of the state, according to the Jerusalem Post Service. Rabbi Kalman Neuman, a leader of the Religious Zionist group Meimad, said that his organization was worried that this action was part of a trend. "This might be a continuation of a kind of disenchantment with certain things that are going on in the state, and a kind of downplaying of the religious role of the state of Israel," he said.

Yair Wolf, a spokesman for the Religious Affairs Ministry, responded that the prayer for the state is "not sacred," adding that another prayer in the siddur mentions the state.