Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., May 08, 2009 Iyyar 14, 5769 | | Israel Time: 03:01 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File TLV 100
Last update - 00:00 10/11/2008
U.S. Jewish group to Mormons: Stop baptizing Holocaust victims
By Associated Press
Tags: Holocaust, Mormons 

Holocaust survivors said Monday they are through trying to negotiate with the Mormon Church over posthumous baptisms of Jews killed in Nazi concentration camps, saying the church has repeatedly violated a 13-year-old agreement barring the practice.

Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say they are making changes to their massive genealogical database to make it more difficult for names of Holocaust victims to be entered for posthumous baptism by proxy, a rite that has been a common Mormon practice for more than a century.

But Ernest Michel, honorary chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, said that is not enough. At a news conference in New York City on Monday, he said the church also must implement a mechanism to undo what you have done.
Advertisement
"Baptism of a Jewish Holocaust victim and then merely removing that name from the database is just not acceptable," said Michel, whose parents died at Auschwitz. He spoke on the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-incited riots against Jews.

"We ask you to respect us and our Judaism just as we respect your religion," Michel said in a statement released ahead of the news conference. "We ask you to leave our six million Jews, all victims of the Holocaust, alone, they suffered enough."

Michel said talks with Mormon leaders, held as recently as last week, are over. He said his group will not sue, and that the only thing left, therefore, is to turn to the court of public opinion.

In 1995, the church agreed not to perform baptisms or other rites for Holocaust victims, except in the very rare instances when they have living descendants who are Mormon.

Church spokesman Mike Otterson said Michel's decision to publicly denounce the church seems like a unilateral termination of the discussion.

"Those steps by Mr. Michel on behalf of the American Gathering were both unnecessary and unfortunate and belie the long and valued mutual respect that we have had in past years," Otterson said in an e-mail.

Posthumous baptism by proxy allows faithful Mormons to have their ancestors baptized into the 178-year-old church, which they believe reunites families in the afterlife.

Using genealogy records, the church also baptizes people who have died from all over the world and from different religions. Mormons stand in as proxies for the person being baptized and immerse themselves in a baptismal pool.

Only the Jews have an agreement with the church limiting who can be baptized, though the agreement covers only Holocaust victims, not all Jewish people. Jews are particularly offended by baptisms of Holocaust victims because they were murdered specifically because of their religion.

Michel suggested that posthumous baptisms of Holocaust victims play into the hands of Holocaust deniers.

"They tell me, that my parents' Jewishness has not been altered but?100 years from now, how will they be able to guarantee that my mother and father of blessed memory who lived as Jews and were slaughtered by Hitler for no other reason than they were Jews, will someday not be identified as Mormon victims of the Holocaust?" Michel said Monday.

Under the agreement with the Holocaust group, Mormons could enter the names of only those Holocaust victims to whom they were directly related. The church also agreed to remove the names of Holocaust victims already entered into its massive genealogical database.

Otterson said the church has kept its part of the agreement by removing more than 200,000 names from the genealogical index.

But since 2005, ongoing monitoring of the database by an independent Salt Lake City-based researcher shows both resubmissions and new entries of names of Dutch, Greek, Polish and Italian Jews.

The researcher Helen Radkey, who has done contract work for the Holocaust group, said her research suggests that lists of Holocaust victims obtained from camp and government records are being dumped into the database.

She said she has seen and recorded a sampling of several thousand entries that indicate Mormon religious rites, including baptisms, had been conducted for these Holocaust victims, some as recently as July.

"I've seen a steady procession of Jewish Holocaust names, especially names with camps linked to them, going to the International Genealogical Index," said Radkey, who acknowledges that she has limited access to the records. "There's no possible way of knowing exactly how many names, but it's substantial."

Church officials say a new version of the database - called New Family Search - will fix the problems. In the works for six years, the new database will discourage the submission of large lists of unrelated individuals. It will also separate names intended for temple rites from those submitted purely for genealogical purposes, the church states in a letter sent to Michel on Nov. 6.

The names of any Holocaust victims we can identify in the database are to be flagged with a special designation - not available for temple ordinances, the letter states.

The church also proposes jump-starting a monitoring committee formed in 2005 to review database entries. The committee has met just once since 2005.

In May, the Vatican ordered Catholic dioceses worldwide to withhold member registries from Mormons so that Catholics could not be baptized.

Related articles:
  • Heirs of Holocaust victims could claim up to NIS 200M in assets
  • Millions of names thought vanished added to Holocaust museum records
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    'Unfair Gaza probe'
    Peres tells Ban that Israel will never accept UN's conclusions on its Gaza war conduct.
    Arab fears on Iran
    U.S. allies in the Gulf are worried over Obama's diplomatic overtures to Tehran.
      1.   U.S. Jewish Group is correct... 22:12  |  Silvienne 10/11/08
      2.   Jews Killed For Race, Not Just Religion 22:25  |  Arik Silverman 10/11/08
      3.   So lets convert dead Mormans to Judaisim and then we`ll be even ! 22:53  |  Jew 10/11/08
      4.   Mr. Silverman... 22:54  |  Heather Czerniak 10/11/08
      5.   Really Folks... 23:13  |  Howard 10/11/08
      6.   to Czerniak... 23:18  |  Gorka 10/11/08
      7.   to Czerniak... 23:18  |  Gorka 10/11/08
      8.   13 years later this is ridiculous! 23:47  |  reality check 10/11/08
      9.   Who cares? 23:52  |  W 10/11/08
      10.   Jews as a race 00:30  |  Victor 11/11/08
      11.   mormon`s baptism 00:31  |  Karen 11/11/08
      12.   Jews and "race" 00:45  |  Slibovitz 11/11/08
      13.   #1 Silvienne - How did you get inside a temple? 00:47  |  Slibovitz 11/11/08
      14.   Tell the Mormons all Jews are gay 00:48  |  Slibovitz 11/11/08
      15.   Mr. Slibovitz... 01:29  |  Heather Czerniak 11/11/08
      16.   We are only trying to help them get to Heaven. 03:02  |  Joe Smith 11/11/08
      17.   We`re a nation Heather... or if you prefer, a people 04:11  |  Jacob Blues 11/11/08
      18.   Agnostic and confused... 04:36  |  coldeye3 11/11/08
      19.   #13, Slibovitz..I explained in my post... 05:05  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      20.   #9, W..... 05:10  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      21.   No offense, but this may well be the 05:26  |  Che Vive 11/11/08
      22.   Amazing, Silvienne 05:44  |  judith 11/11/08
      23.   its usually known as the case of the body 06:14  |  larzbeach 11/11/08
      24.   To Heather, on Jews as race 07:15  |  Derek 11/11/08
      25.   Insanity 07:16  |  Mike 11/11/08
      26.   #1 Silvienne. Mormon baptism. 07:19  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/08
      27.   Just another form of hate 07:27  |  Ed 11/11/08
      28.   Joe Smiths misguided ideas 07:38  |  Sam C 11/11/08
      29.   What are we worried about???? 08:23  |  B`Galil 11/11/08
      30.   Why do Jews care? 08:33  |  John Hanks 11/11/08
      31.   "Hatred" is overused 08:38  |  John Hanks 11/11/08
      32.   Nice people the Mormons -- but on this they live in outerspace 08:46  |  Marty 11/11/08
      33.   This is a non-issue and a waste of time 08:47  |  Josh 11/11/08
      34.   Joe Smith #16 -- excellent! I really heard it 09:00  |  Aaron 11/11/08
      35.   like the eu was supposed to control gaza`s border w/egypt??? 09:04  |  dante 11/11/08
      36.   #4 Heather, Mormons baptizing the dead 09:04  |  HM 11/11/08
      37.   Exploitation of Holocaust victims in order to.... 09:06  |  Esther 11/11/08
      38.   baptizing a dead person is NOT BIBLICAL! BLASPHEMY! 09:11  |  mary for jews 11/11/08
      39.   Mormons have wierder doctrines than that 09:12  |  Gregor 11/11/08
      40.   Total Mormon daftness 09:24  |  Clickfool 11/11/08
      41.   U.S. jewish group to Mormons: Stop baptizing Holocaust victims 09:32  |  martin list, m.d. 11/11/08
      42.   It`s like wanting to be in your neighbours bedroom, but why? 10:40  |  Tom Lobo Meyer 11/11/08
      43.   Why not Try it on the Muslims? 10:42  |  Fairman 11/11/08
      44.   Respect our religion? No religions respect each other. 10:51  |  Michael 11/11/08
      45.   Converted without their knowledge and consent 10:55  |  PETER SM 11/11/08
      46.   38 Mary for Jews, are you for Pals and other people too? 10:55  |  Michael 11/11/08
      47.   Blacks sinned in the pre-life said the profit 10:59  |  Jack Paulden 11/11/08
      48.   No comprehension for the Mormon position here..... 11:15  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/11/08
      49.   Good Mitt Romney did not get elected!!!!! 11:36  |  Tom Lobo Meyer 11/11/08
      50.   lucky people 11:45  |  Axel 11/11/08
      51.   Since when is free insurance a bad thing? 12:23  |  Natallie Durson 11/11/08
      52.   Mr Michael, "they are beloved for the father`s sakes" Romans 11 12:31  |  mary for jews 11/11/08
      53.   #38 Mary for Jews. What other alternative... 12:34  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/08
      54.   #50 Axel 12:42  |  birgit 11/11/08
      55.   Slibovitz - not race or ethinic group.. 12:43  |  Ofer Maimon 11/11/08
      56.   Natallie, Clickfool: leave the Jews do their nonsense, no comment 12:43  |  Israeli citizen 11/11/08
      57.   There is a lot of misinformation going on here 12:48  |  A Momon convert 11/11/08
      58.   Talking about weird ceremonies... 12:50  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/08
      59.   This is the ritual 12:58  |  A Mormon Convert 11/11/08
      60.   Mary for Jews 52. Fair enough. 13:19  |  Michael 11/11/08
      61.   Che Vive and Coldeye3. Thanks. 13:26  |  Lilac 11/11/08
      62.   WAKE UP! 13:50  |  Jeff 11/11/08
      63.   what the hell... pardon the expression 13:55  |  samos 11/11/08
      64.   Pls baptize Haaretz talkbackers instead 14:06  |  Herbert Kaine 11/11/08
      65.   No. 20, Silvienne 14:25  |  W 11/11/08
      66.   Catholics ARE baptised! 14:35  |  Motic 11/11/08
      67.   Brit Milah? 14:36  |  Joseph 11/11/08
      68.   #40 Clickfool, genealogy 16:29  |  Boycott 11/11/08
      69.   Tolerant Religious Leader or "Bombthrower"?? 16:42  |  Marlowe Leafty 11/11/08
      70.   to Mary for Jews 16:44  |  Nicolas from Paris 11/11/08
      71.   to Mary for the Jews 16:50  |  Nicolas from Paris 11/11/08
      72.   to Mary for the Jews 16:59  |  Nicolas from Paris 11/11/08
      73.   Mormons: also the dead have human rights and human dignity 17:06  |  Alicia 11/11/08
      74.   #57 To Mormon Convert 17:22  |  Alicia 11/11/08
      75.   U.S. Jewish Group Should Worry More About Israel`s Survival 18:10  |  Tod Zuckerman 11/11/08
      76.   Mormons 18:31  |  Kenan, Ben 11/11/08
      77.   Tod Z. Finally, We agree.... 18:48  |  Gray 11/11/08
      78.   Re: # 51 18:57  |  Angel 11/11/08
      79.   mormons are the most right wing xtian zionist 19:06  |  was bound to happen 11/11/08
      80.   Perils of latter day conversion 19:20  |  Dov 11/11/08
      81.   #22, Judith... 19:23  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      82.   Mormons believe baptism reunite families members ... 19:32  |  Ines 11/11/08
      83.   Its simple 19:34  |  Leo 11/11/08
      84.   #26, Maureen Ann... 19:35  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      85.   #33, Josh... 19:40  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      86.   #36, HM in Israel... 19:45  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      87.   #83, leo, I like that idea! 19:52  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      88.   To Marienne #85 -- Marienne 19:55  |  Josh 11/11/08
      89.   #80, Dov... 19:56  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      90.   I know for sure that ... 20:14  |  Ines 11/11/08
      91.   #88 Josh, the Israeli soldier 20:32  |  Alicia 11/11/08
      92.   #91, Alicia, thank you for your post... 20:55  |  Silvienne 11/11/08
      93.   And One More Thing 20:57  |  Tod Zuckerman 11/11/08
      94.   Mormons Are Not Christian 21:24  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/11/08
      95.   #84 Silvienne. A book I strongly recommend. 21:26  |  Maureen Ann 11/11/08
      96.   To #91 Alicia -- I disagree 21:41  |  Josh 11/11/08
      97.   Self-Correction Re 93 21:49  |  Tod Zuckerman 11/11/08
      98.   The Mormons should never ever... 21:50  |  Israel 11/11/08
      99.   Tod Z, Please answer,,,,#77 22:03  |  Gray 11/11/08
      100.   #16 Joe Smith 22:06  |  leo 11/11/08
      101.   To Clickfool (#40), Axel (#50) 22:28  |  Morris Valentine 11/11/08
      102.   Silverman,Gorka etc. Jews not race & murdered 22:34  |  PK 11/11/08
      103.   Fight hate with a proper response 22:41  |  Conversion Project 11/11/08
      104.   The Mormon Conversion Project 22:43  |  Victims of the Shoah 11/11/08
      105.   #16-Joe Smith G-D is the Jew`s only salvation 22:44  |  PK 11/11/08
      106.   Note to Yaacov Sullivan 22:46  |  Arie 11/11/08
      107.   There Are Really Only 2 Possibilities.... 23:01  |  Jimmy 11/11/08
      108.   Re: Joe Smith - No. 16 23:10  |  Angel 11/11/08
      109.   what does APICA and JINSA have t odo with vets 23:12  |  Nimrod Tal 11/11/08
      110.   Do Americans really care about the Victims of the Holocaust? 23:20  |  Domenic L. Amato 11/11/08
      111.   So We Make Everybody Jewish 23:24  |  Yosemite 11/11/08
      112.   Stop Mormans from baptizing Holocaust victims 23:47  |  Cary Berkelhamer 11/11/08
      113.   The strench of the Edguardo Montara outrage! 23:48  |  MARK KLEIN, M.D. 11/11/08
      114.   Re: Yosemite # 104 00:10  |  Angel 12/11/08
      115.   Well John Hanks, simply put, its an issue of respect 00:41  |  Jacob Blues 12/11/08
      116.   What is also interesting is the response of the RC Church 00:45  |  Jacob Blues 12/11/08
      117.   Nimrod: AIPAC & JINSA, Where Have You Been? 01:10  |  Gray 12/11/08
      118.   Can dead meat be saved? 01:14  |  Mark Lincoln 12/11/08
      119.   #16 Joe Smith see #103 01:21  |  Conversion Project 12/11/08
      120.   I`ll never understand 01:29  |  Bruce 12/11/08
      121.   mary no matter what you think... 01:43  |  strange 12/11/08
      122.   gray 01:50  |  strange 12/11/08
      123.   alicia 73 01:54  |  potobac 12/11/08
      124.   #108, haahaa..nice one, Angel!! 02:15  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      125.   This guy Joe Smith getting lots of replies... 02:16  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      126.   #99, Gray, this question has been asked... 02:17  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      127.   #106, Arie--now here`s a real twit... 02:20  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      128.   domenic amato 110 02:29  |  potobac 12/11/08
      129.   Mormons 02:34  |  Lea 12/11/08
      130.   Why I am laughing? 02:36  |  hala 12/11/08
      131.   silvienne in ct-perhaps you should read the lds website 02:39  |  Arie 12/11/08
      132.   Natallie Durson and Clickfool 02:46  |  Jane 12/11/08
      133.   Jesus H. Christ Of Latter Day Saints! 03:44  |  Jeff Northridge 12/11/08
      134.   IF I`AM BEING BAPTIZED 04:14  |  indrajaya 12/11/08
      135.   Mormon Baptisms 04:37  |  David Cissell 12/11/08
      136.   Shalom, Nicolas & Strange. To Life, Eternal! pt 1 04:41  |  mary for jews 12/11/08
      137.   Let`s give them bris milahs 04:46  |  Jon 12/11/08
      138.   This is SO SILLY 04:46  |  judith 12/11/08
      139.   We Love both Jews and Muslims 04:47  |  Joe Smith 12/11/08
      140.   Bro Michael. re: racial harmony. 05:14  |  mary for jews 12/11/08
      141.   #131, Arie... 05:15  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      142.   Silvienne; You were right, again. Re: "Dual" Loyalties 05:16  |  Gray 12/11/08
      143.   #132, Jane, for once I agree with you... 05:18  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      144.   #130, hala... 05:20  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      145.   mary for jews 136 05:24  |  strange 12/11/08
      146.   they were killed for their religion 05:53  |  a jew 12/11/08
      147.   gray 142 always run when confronted don`t you 05:57  |  strange 12/11/08
      148.   gray by the way... 06:01  |  strange 12/11/08
      149.   #51 Natalie Durson Toss salt over shoulder 06:16  |  Jim 12/11/08
      150.   Mark Lincoln a question of you. Did you piss on your neighbor`s 06:31  |  Jacob Blues 12/11/08
      151.   Maureen Ann from Bathurst Australia 06:45  |  PAN Human Universal 12/11/08
      152.   U.S. Jewish Group is correct... 07:16  |  PAN Human Universal 12/11/08
      153.   It ain`t worth it! 08:03  |  Jim 12/11/08
      154.   Hi, Nicholas, Strange, Michael... To Life, eternal. pt 2 08:20  |  mary for jews 12/11/08
      155.   #132 Jane, speaaking of pedophiles, 09:49  |  hala 12/11/08
      156.   #38 Mary for Jews 17:14  |  Alan 12/11/08
      157.   #142, Gray... 17:28  |  Silvienne 12/11/08
      158.   Last week it was the pope, this week it is 18:19  |  mike 12/11/08
      159.   Ceremonies for the Dead goes Beyond Mormonism 18:57  |  Alan 12/11/08
      160.   Alicia #74--Mormons Don`t Know 19:50  |  Alan 12/11/08
      161.   To Mary for Jews (1) 01:06  |  Nicolas from Paris 13/11/08
      162.   to Mary for Jews (2) 01:31  |  Nicolas from Paris 13/11/08
      163.   to Mary for Jews (3) 01:45  |  Nicolas from Paris 13/11/08
      164.   to Mary for Jews (4) 02:01  |  Nicolas from Paris 13/11/08
      165.   jacob blues 150 05:51  |  potobac 13/11/08
      166.   a jew 146 05:53  |  potobac 13/11/08
      167.   #160 Alan; not "an incorrect assumption" 13:14  |  Alicia 13/11/08
      168.   #167 Alicia--Refocus your Witch Hunt 17:05  |  Alan 13/11/08
      169.   Else What shall they do which are baptized for the dead 18:21  |  Brad 12/03/09
      170.   he ha ha ha 14:17  |  sean god phillips 02/05/09
      171.   WHY IT MATTERS 21:41  |  Sara 07/05/09
     Haaretz Hot Topics
    Durban II conference
    Air strike in Sudan
    Israel 2009 election results: Voter breakdown
    Israel vs. Hamas
    Iran: Nuclear and regional ambitions
    More Headlines
    02:28 Lack of Mideast coordination with U.S. worries J'lem
    02:55 U.S. incorporating Livni's ideas into peace process
    17:40 U.S.: We are committed to Syrian-Israeli peace deal
    02:18 Police: Fugitive gunman may be targeting Jews in U.S. town
    17:28 Blair: Israel-Palestinian talks must address Jerusalem
    00:40 How will the German-born pope address the Holocaust at Yad Vashem?
    17:16 IDF bans Palestinians from hosting pope next to West Bank fence
    21:58 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
    22:10 UN chief slams Hezbollah for activities in Egypt
    20:55 German official: Lieberman comments 'far from encouraging'
    21:50 UN Security Council fails to agree on procedures for Gaza debate
    01:23 IDF soldier killed during West Bank raid
    19:55 Court rejects ex-president's bid to postpone rape trial
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Spring Specials-Dan Hotels
    Jerusalem from 179$. Tel-Aviv from 223$. Herzliya from 336$
    The Meier on Rothschild Tower
    Masterpiece Residence in the Heart of Tel Aviv
    Dead Sea Skin Care
    Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
    Camp Kimama Israel 2009
    The best place for your children this summer
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | | Israel 2009 election results
    Site rules | Makom: Engaging on Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved