Last update - 00:00 29/11/2006
U.S. Jews to PM: Don't change Law of Return to shun converts
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
The heads of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) sent an unusually harsh letter Tuesday to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, warning that if a proposed change goes through in the Law of Return excluding converts in the definition of a Jew, it could seriously impair support for Israel among American Jews.
The letter came after Haaretz reported that a bill to change the Law of Return had been put before Olmert whereby converts would not be considered Jews for the purposes of the Law of Return. The bill was initiated by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and formulated by the Chief Rabbinate's legal advisor due to its concern that the High Court is on the verge of recognizing Reform conversions in Israel as valid for the purpose of the Law of Return.
In the letter, AJC president Robert Goodkind said the law was an attempt to delegitimize the Judaism of most American Jews. Goodkind also said if the bill became law it would alienate precisely those groups that are the basis for support for Israel in American society.