| There definitely is such a thing as secular cultural Jewishness & there are many people who identify with it who aren`t halakhic Jews-this includes a lot of people who are mostly of Jewish ancestry but may have, for instance, a non-Jewish maternal grandmother.A lot of them are not ready, and never will be, to accept the yoke of Torah and mitzvot.Such individuals should nevertheless be recognized as "cultural Jews".They are already permitted to make aliya!Should they be recognized as "Jews" by Orthodox for purposes of marriage?No! But they should allow civil marriage and let each community of people keep its own lists of who they consider to be a Jew. Anyway, there are already Karaite Jews and Samaritans who are allowed to maintain their own customs re:marriage & divorce within Israel, Israel should do the same for Reform, Conservative & Ssecular Jews. |
|
