| Rabbinic leadership in the Syrian Jewish community placed an edict in 1935 which refuses to recognize any converts to Judaism whatsoever, even the ones that appear to be sincere. What most Jews don`t realize is that Judaism is more of an ethnicity than it is a religion. Syrian Jews do not want to be tainted by "goyishe" blood, and are thus even reluctant to marry outside the community into another Jewish community. We are a people bonded by blood and memory. How can a convert truly empathize with what we go through? Sephardic Jews and Ultra-Orthodox Jews in general "look out" for one another more so than do secular Ashkenazi Jews, and the reason being thatonce you allow too many converts and tainted blood into the community, your connection to them psychologically diminishes. People, by nature, will help family first, then starngers. Sephardic and Ultra-Orthodox Jews are related to one another by blood, thereby feel obligated to help on another. |
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