Israelis propose law against “weird” names for children

Orwell couldn’t have dreamed it up better himself. Israel is considering the creation of a “public names committee,” allegedly to prevent parents from naming their children “weird” names.

From Israel National News,

A new law proposed by MK Zvulun Orlev (Bayit Yehudi), who is chairman of the Knesset Children’s Rights Committee, would prevent parents from giving their children “weird” or strange names that other childrenwere likely to make fun of. The law would forbid parents from naming their children with names that “hurt their welfare or their feelings.”

The law, to be presented Sunday for the approval of the Ministerial Law Committee, would establish a “public names committee” which would include experts such as social workers, psychologists, and educators. They would confer with the relevant government ministries on “unacceptable” names that were likely, in their opinion, to cause children damage.

The law is motivated by some kind of religious impulse, claiming “A name is the most important asset that a person has. Judaism places great importance on a person’s name, and many people consult with rabbis before deciding what to name their children.”

It would be helpful for “Judaism” to show us where Old Testament law provides any such legal committee. Blasphemy, of course, should be outlawed, but “weird” names as determined by a committee of liberal social workers? And since when is a name “the most important asset” a person has?

If “Judaism” teaches that, no one ever told the prophet Isaiah. He named his son “Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” meaning “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.” That was not so important to the child himself: it was tremendously important to the rebellious nation it targeted as a judgment.

Nevertheless, a number of western nations have such laws already—Sweden, Portugal, Norway, and Peru—as did Calvin’s Geneva in the 16th Century.