Earlier this month, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation was slated to discuss a new law proposed by Knesset member Meirav Michaeli (Zionist Camp) that would have banned the sale of fur in Israel. Ostensibly, the law, which included articles of clothing, should have passed without opposition. Animal furs are hardly a feature of the local fashion industry. The Mediterranean climate affords very few opportunities to really enjoy the advantages of natural fur, and there is no powerful furrier lobby to impede the passing of such legislation.

It turned out, however, that Israel is an important importer of furs for reasons of tradition. The shtreimel, a traditional hat worn by Hasidic Jews in Israel and around the world, is made from the tails of the sable, a small mammal that lives in the far reaches of the northern hemisphere. The tails come from many different subspecies of the animal and vary in quality and cost. The Canadian sable, for example, is the most expensive, followed by the Russian sable, but there are also shtreimels made of cheaper fur. A single tail from a Russian sable sells for about $30, while Canadian tails can go as high as $70 apiece. In the past, a single shtreimel was made of anywhere from 10-20 tails, but today, some are made from as many as 60. Even without any local fur lobby associated with the fashion industry, the ultra-Orthodox attachment to the tradition translates into a significant powerful force. What this means in practice is that the chances of the legislature banning the sale of furs is negligible. Even discussions about the proposed law were postponed for several months due to pressure from the Knesset's ultra-Orthodox parties.

"People continue to wear shtreimels, even though the cost starts at $1,600 per hat. A law banning the sale of fur is the last thing that will stop us," Menachem Farkash told Al-Monitor. Farkash works for a company that manufactures shtreimels for sale at (relatively) affordable prices. It seems that Michaeli has recognized the obstacle. She amended her proposed legislation so that the ban on the sale of fur would not cover "furs and fur products used for religious or traditional purposes."

The source of the shtreimel is frigid 17th-century Poland, where fur hats were popular among Jews and non-Jews alike. In his story "The Shtreimel Decree," author S.Y. Agnon wrote that the shtreimel came about as a result of a decree by a Polish king, who ordered Jews to wear tails on their heads in order to embarrass them. It was only later that these tails became a legitimate item of clothing, and a prestigious one at that. Regardless of its origins, however, the shtreimel is hardly appropriate headgear for the scorching Israeli summer. Nevertheless, it became an integral part of the traditional garb of Hasidic Jews around the world (including this author). They wear it on the Sabbath, holidays and other joyous occasions.