U.S. Jews should help Israel redraft its immoral citizenship laws
The U.S. Jewish leadership should devote its efforts to the right cause, as their fight over conversion reforms was a pointless exercise.
By Anshel PfefferIt was a classic lobby job. The weak and wavering politicians identified, precise pressure applied at the exact time and place, threats made, allies enlisted, reporters briefed and offending legislation shot down. A perfect result. The leaders of the American Reform and Conservative movements must be very pleased with themselves this week at the effective way in which they coerced Benjamin Netanyahu into reneging on his coalition promises and blocking Dudu Rotem's new conversion law.
But they shouldn't be. It was a totally pointless exercise that achieved nothing and wasted an opportunity to make a real change in the future. Not that they were wrong in objecting to the clause in the law which effectively denies recognition of any conversion not sanctioned by the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate, but the stark reality is that even without that clause, the situation of converts who went through the Reform or Conservative process would still be dire.
The laws change at the whim of any random coalition, and the attempts to fight them in the Supreme Court take years and are rarely effective. Converts, of whatever stripe, are hostages. They never know what fundamental civil right they may have to fight for next. They are political footballs, victims of power struggles between rabbis who care next to nothing for their plight. If they converted in an Orthodox rabbinical court, another court may one day suddenly revoke their conversion. They cannot get married at many of the (state-funded ) religious councils and if they converted abroad, they are subject to the petty tyrants of the Interior Ministry when trying to become Israeli citizens. And even if they manage to overcome all the obstacles and start a family in Israel, they have to live with the fear that some day in the distant future, their children may not be considered Jewish enough for whatever Haredi-dominated coalition may rule our lives then.
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North American Jews arriving in Israel after making aliyah in 2008. |
| Photo by: Nir Keidar |
But there is nothing new about any of this, the "Who is a Jew?" controversy has been with us since David Ben-Gurion's days and it will never be solved. The ultra-Orthodox establishment will never recognize a convert who did not go through the hell of their Batei Din (rabbinical courts ) as a Jew, (and even then, it will remain a stigma for life - have you ever heard of a ger getting a shidduch with a Haredi rabbi's daughter? ) and their word will remain law as long as they have preponderance among the religious. The demography is clear - that won't change in our lifetime.
Countless campaigns and outreach programs haven't changed the basic fact that Reform and Conservative communities remain few and far-between in Israel and are rarely the synagogues of choice for secular Israelis on Yom Kippur or for junior's bar mitzvah. They should stop trying to compete with the Orthodox as there will never be a level playing field, and embrace the concept that rabbis are not the ones who should decide who can be part of a Jewish community.
In America and a few places elsewhere, this idea has worked well for many federations and temples who stopped whining about assimilation, and instead began welcoming spouses and children of mixed marriages. The problem of conversion in Israel should be tackled in the same way. "Who is a Jew" is an obsolete concept and fighting over it takes us again and again down a dead-end alley.
The only way of making any headway is to finally address the much wider issue of citizenship. Most politicians are afraid of touching that because they fear that any tampering with the Law of Return will open up a wider debate on the identity of the Jewish state and its increasingly problematic relationship with its non-Jewish citizens, and of course the future of its Palestinian subjects across the Green Line. They prefer to postpone opening that particular can of worms until the day when we reach an utopian peace with all our surroundings.
But the challenges of 21st century emigration trends are too great for a law that was designed 60 years ago to deal with absorbing the refugees of the Holocaust. Just look at how the government is tying itself in knots, trying to find a formula that will allow some children of foreign workers who have lived here all their young lives to remain. And the often racist methods used by the Interior Ministry to keep out Palestinian spouses of Israeli citizens, not to mention the shambles that is the ever-changing policy regarding the Ethiopian Falashmura.
Next week, Netanyahu is convening high-level meetings on the Falashmura, in preparation for yet another U-turn. The Law of Return is increasingly an obstacle between Israel and the continuously evolving Jewish communities around the world, and effectively hands the key to the nation's gates to the most reactionary, non-Zionist rabbis, allowing them to decide who can be a citizen in the state they have no allegiance to.
If the Jewish American leadership is really interested in making a change, and not simply safeguarding the narrow interests of their local allies, they should devote the considerable resources they invest in lobbying and advocacy in Israel toward a radical redrafting of the citizenship laws. This does not have to mean a dilution of Israel's Jewish identity. In the clear guidelines of who is eligible to become a citizen, affinity to the Jewish people will be a major factor. Many countries in the West have similar laws designed to give an advantage to immigrants who have some historical or cultural connection to their prospective country. Along with a citizenship law, we can finally get on to drawing up a bill of rights for Israeli citizens which, among many other things, will end the national shame by which hundreds of thousands of Israelis are not allowed to get married without a rabbi's sanction.
Putting the screws on Netanyahu is easy. All they had to do was threaten not to help him out any more in Washington and he scurried to block the law. But that trick won't work every time, certainly not with a different prime minister, or president. And anyway, if Israel deserves support, then an obscure clause in an irrelevant law should not be a condition. But if U.S. Jews find it hard to defend immoral Israeli policies, then how can fixing another immoral law justify that?
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And therefore its conversions null and void. Reform movement must choose other than "Judaism" name for its religion to avoid confusions in the future. Jews are people of one ethnicity (when mother is Jewish) and not of one religion. The gentiles converted according to Halakha have better chance to change their ethnicity. (because acting like Jews forces them to become Jews) Israeli law takes this into account.
Should take care of their own countries inhuman laws. These laws are just a shame: look how immigrants are treated. Start with one's own house cleaning. If they wish to take care of Israel they should move there and take its nationality.
Anshel Pfeffer wrote "It was a totally pointless exercise that achieved nothing and wasted an opportunity to make a real change in the future." Pointless? I would say the following: No clear 1.thinking person would believe that if this legislation would have eased the way toward conversion, and liberalized the path, it would have had the support of the Haredi world. 2. It has stopped the enshrining into law of additional (exclusive) powers to an already corrupt rabbinate that has soured many on their procedures for marriage, burial, conversion, divorece, kashrut, and more. 3..The use of the word "temples" is insulting. Yes, it is used in the names of many synagogues (especially in the Reform Movement) but it is also used, as it was here, to deny the legitimacy of these institutions as genuine synagogues. 4. He writes with regard to the lobbying against the bill "that trick won't work every time." To suggest that advocating in favor of Jewish unity and against empowering the Chief Rabbinate is a "trick" shows the bias of the author and his inability to separate calls for justice from "tricks." 5. Finally, the author calls the law "irrelevant." A law that hands over exclusive power to a Non (or even anti) Zionist body, here in Israel, is far from irrelevant.
I know of plenty of Converts who married into Chareidi families of "Yichus". Why the lie?
The famous Rabbi Blau from Meah Shearim was married to a French fashion model who converted to [Orthodox] Judaism. Genuine converts and their children are accepted in Haredi circles.
this is just a means of anti-zionists to try and drive a wedge between jewish allies - israeli and diasapora. but we have unity and wont be fooled. even my rabbi here in california rabbi christiansen understands that. judaism has traditionaly discouraged converts and if a sincere convert wants to convert he has to work for it. in the usa its just usually a ruse to accomodate mixed jewish/gentile people who want to marry. its not really hard to convert.
There are two considerations of his dilemna; Who is a Jew? and What is a Jew?Declarations of ethnic identity are more formalistic than substantive. Historically, the question of What is a Jew is of greater meaning than the first question. Other than my identity card certifying that I am a Jew according to Israeli law, what is my connection to Judaism. It is illogical historically, to assume that the current interpretations of what is a Jew-Reform, Conservative ,secular, pluralistic. Orthodox, et al are all legitimate because some of them are contradicory of the others. Those repeatedly declare Israel as a Jewish state really mean to maintain a Jewish majority. Is this what it is to be Jewish?Does the current population of the USA have the inherent right to redefine what it is to be an American?That right rests with the founding fathers of the American republic and so it is with the Jewish people.Even in sports if you change the rules of soccer it becomes rugby and if you alter the rules of baseball, you are playing softball, not baseball.
Chief Rabbi Amar was responsible for Rabbi Druckman's Conversion Authority -- and condemned by Haredim like Dayan Sherman. The Chief Rabbinate is not Haredi, and tries to balance various perspectives. Inside Israel conversions are governed by the Chief Rabbinate, so the law is nothing new. Citizenship of Israel does not depend on being Halachically Jewish. Non-Orthodox converts from America are covered by the Law of Return. Most of the fuss has been fabricated by American Reformers who see Israel as their pet charity, doing as it's told in return for support. Many Israelis do not see life this way!
USA Jews can make a difference. Who better can transfer American-Jewish ideals of equality and social justice? After all it has been American Jews that helped lead the civil rights movement. Israel needs this leadership to protect it's democracy as well as reconcile with the Palestinians and the Arab world. I have hope for peace but only if it is based on equality, justice, human rights and freedom of speech and worship.
"many federations and temples who stopped whining about assimilation, and instead began welcoming spouses and children of mixed marriages." They are destroying the Jewish Nation and we will not allow them to do the same here in Israel!
Israel's citizenship laws when the 20% minority Israeli's have had absolutely no input to the law? If you want fairer laws, how about involving minorities in the process. Nothing wrong with getting input from others outside your country, but your minority ciitizens first.
If a state calls itself a "Jewish state" it requires an official definition of "who is a Jew". If the "Jewish state" is to be a theocratic Rabbinic state, the official definition of "who is a Jew" must be entrusted to theocratic Rabbinic authorities. How could it be otherwise? If the state is not a "Jewish state", but a democratic state, in which Jews (and others) have equal rights, then there is no need for an official definition of "who is a Jew", and no need for official status for theocratic Rabbinic authorities. The rest is left to the democratic values of freedom of religion, and freedom of conscience, and freedom of association, and separation of religion from state. The problem is that Zionism embodies a permanent conflict between Jewishness and democratic values. US Jews who are committed to democratic values can help overcome the conflict inherent in Zionism.
Still 4 legs, moron. Call the tail anything you want. A dog has 4 legs.
I'm not going to have some old geezer Orthodox rabbi who has never lived outside of Israel force his ignorant traditions down my Jewish throat. I know what it means to be Jewish, and it does not have to follow Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Secular Traditions. Being Jewish is a state of mind for some, and for others it may be a total religious immersion. Different smokes for different folks. In a democracy, which Israel claims to be (but certainly looks more like a theocracy similar to Iran) one size does not fit all. In a democracy we learn how to respect our differences yet hold onto our identity. In a genuine democracy, religious authorities would not have political power, as there would be a clear separation of church and state, something that is sorely lacking in Israel. To be honest, I will never seek aliayah because Israel is way behind the times in evolving its democracy and expanding opportunities for Jews to be accepted into Israeli society. I'll keep my identity as an AMERICAN JEW thank you very much. These 2000 year old arguments are a complete waste of time and resources. There are greater social & political issues that Israelis must face up to for face demise as a relevant nation.
1.your religion is democracy. 2.Judaism as a state of mind is judaism practiced for 2 generations max. 3.Israel is a "jewish state" .
France, Germany, Finland, Norway, Ireland, and many others, have "Right of return" laws which grant citizenship based on ethnicity.
in an european democracy u cant kick ur fellow citizens over the border. that means also these ones who r against ur constitution. if u r born here as a european u have the right to stay and noone cant deny it.
In many western countries (including Germany) citizenship can be revoked for various reasons. You are looking for differences which aren't there.
Israelis shouldn't take seriously the American Jewish lobby from either the reform or conservative ranks. If they want to make aliyah....fine. Otherwise let them assimilate into the great melting pot like all the others.
We should look at ourselves in the mirror. We are starting to look more and more like the narrow minded theocratic segment of the Arab world. Argh!!
In the Arab world, there are "no Jews allowed." And, the Jews aren't known for 9-11 and mass murdering of innocents as are the radical Islamists.
Israel is not only our biblical homeland as promised to our ancestors, it is place of last refuge to all Jews. How many times have Jews been massacred over the past 2 millennia due to not having a place to go in time of trouble? Jews should be welcome in all denominations in our traditional homeland. That has always been the promise of Eretz Yisrael.
The answer was clear for at least 2000 years. Who is a Jew was determined by Halachah. Now some are trying to change the rules. Why? To satisfy the reform and conservative groups who are eager to hold on to power and not to give it to the orthodox Halachah people. Tradition in Jewish History is highly valued and not easily discarded. With over 50% intermarriage in the USA mostly reform, Conservative and unaffiliated, my vote goes with the Orthodox. Stay away from the losers.
Take to sole right of marriage, birth,divorce, death away from the non Zionist Haridim. Allow civil marriages or divorces as in other democracies. Then leave this question to these narrow minded Rabbis. It will then not be relevant to most Jews.
"Who is a Jew" is an obsolete question only for obsolete Jews like Anshel Pfeffer, who don't seem to care about preserving Jewish nation.
The fact that any rabbinical court can revoke the 'Jewishness' of any ger even if the court is for example a divorce court is insane. These courts seem to lack respect for basic legal concepts and methodologies irrespective of the law being Jewish Law or Secular Law. What is truly needed is better oversight of Rabbinical courts with the ability to impeach judges who consistently fail to follow basic legal principals.
First, all the articles in Haaretz and elsewhere keep talking about Reform and Conservative. They forget that there's a third movement that is actually closer to what the average Jew (both in diaspora and Israel) actually believes - the Reconstructionist movement. The basic problem is not really the conversion law. It's the monopoly the rabbanut holds on things like marriage within the Jewish community. If that monopoly were ended, we would have a situation where the haredim wouldn't recognize the marriages and Jewishness of large parts of the Israeli population and those same parts really wouldn't care. I note that the Ashkenazi haredim are becoming increasingly radical and simultaneously increasingly isolated from the rest of the Jewish world. Even rabbis in Shas have written on how halacha does NOT require Jews to become orthodox. Take this power away from the haredim (not to mention their subsidies) and let the rest of the Jewish world move on. I am reminded of the early years of the State when tens of thousands of Jews came to Israel with no proof whatsoever of their being Jewish. When one government official was asked about this, his answer was "a Jew is anybody who is crazy enough to claim he is a Jew."
Enough with US Jews on either right or left trying to tell Israel what to do - we Israelis are the ones who blood gets spilled in the streets as consequence of the policies pushed on us - it s us that have to live with conversion and marriage issues, and it is us that have to deail with illegal immigrants and the such. Until you are willing to put your body and your children's lives on the line, STAY OUT OF OUR BUSINESS - this conversion bill that just got postponed for 6 months provided a wanted solution to 200,000 non-Jewish Russian immigrants that wanted to join the Jewish people, now because of AMerican Jews, they have no solution again - the party that sponsored the bill is a SECULAR party, there is no Haredi coercion here as the media like to claim.
. . . done by Israelis affect us, as well, so we really have no choice but to speak up. One of those issues is the definition of "who is a Jew". Jewish communities have existed in all parts of the world for many centuries, and, to the best of my knowledge, the years since the establishment of the State of Israel constitute the first time that a Jewish community in one country has tried to assert the right to deny the Jewish identity of Jews converted by rabbis in another country. While I have no real interest in Israel's immigration laws, I can't help feeling that a law that prohibits people converted by Reform or Conservative rabbis in the United States from immigrating to Israel because they are not Jews is insulting and, yes, divisive. I am sorry if you feel that we are interfering in your business, but you need to show us the respect that we deserve as a very important center of Jewish life and a Jewish community that has provided Israel with enormous support since its founding.
defines itself as a state of its citizens rather than the state of the Jewish people, which, unfortunately, includes us....
This proposed law does not change the recognition of American Conservative and Reform converts under the Law of Return. The law end the Haredi control over conversions inside Israel by allowing each City Rabbi to perform conversions as he sees fit with no power for Haredim to revoke them. The problem has been invented by American machers who think they control the Israeli government.
Sad but true.
Bravo, Anshel, for once again confronting an issue which needs to be debated. Imperatives that formed the State in 1948, are no longer the identical, and we must, at the very least, examine them. If we don't, others will - in fact they already have. And so if we want to retain a degree of control over this very necessary debate, we need to address issues such as the sustainability of the law of return, identity of a religious state etc.
Israel is a sovereign democracy. I, as an American, am in no position to be attempting to change Israel's laws, in the same respects that Israelis have no right in our politics. When I make aliyah (which I plan on doing in 2 years), I will have a voice in Israeli politics, but until I'm an Israeli, I will keep my mouth shut
when Israel shuts down AIPAC and stops claiming to speak on my behalf and on behalf of all Jews.
Are you stuck in some kind of quantum superposition? Also, within the concept of sovereignty, the state has supremacy over the religious institutions, which is not really true in Israel, so Isreal is not really a sovereign democracy, but is rather a partially democratic theocracy, as far as I can tell. Also, you as an American, are in one of the few groups of people outside Israel who are in a position to be attempting to change Israel's laws and Israelis do have certain rights in your politics as your foreign policy agendas depend on each other for support.
The jews of america do not and should not have a right to any opinion on what goes on in Israel. Until they are tax paying citizens of Israel, it undemocratic and a chuzpa to think that they or their "important & influential" jewish organisations even discuss what goes on here. Who do they think they are???????
when israel is independent of US aid, and has paid back the countless billions it has received from the US, you can play Big Man. who do you think you are??? i know what you are: ungrateful
As Jewish Israel supporting taxpaying citizen of a country that gives you over $3 billion every year exclusive of charity, I have every right to tell you how to behave. If you don't like our opinions, stop taking my money!
Who do US Jews think they are? Well some of them are the very folks who're keeping your fundamentalist, radical views from destroying Israel. The last time I checked, US Jews pay US Taxes and those very taxes help pay for the $3 Billion in aid that Israel receives.
We are the people who support you with our hard earned taxes to the tune of over $3 billion a year. We are the people who never cash in our Israeli bonds and who support Israel with our charitable donations and tourist dollars.
America gives billions a year to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi and Israel, much of it to be spent on American armaments. About 90% of American taxpayers are broadly Christian. Should the USA therefore demand that these countries become Christian?
Israels law on who is a Jew is a matter for a governet elected by Israelis not American Jews. When the Americans make allitah and are given Israeli citizenship then they will have a say in the matter unti that day it is not and should not be any of their concern.
israel would crumble into dust in less than a decade
all jews need each other, and each country will make its own decisions how to convert. will josh walk away, if he doesnt get his deluded way ?
We need to keep our genes pure and refrain from mixing with other peoples. The Nazis tried to fight us with our own weapons because they did not like our racial purity (read "Mein Kampf"). We must not surrender to the Nazis!!!!! Keep the holy race pure!!!!!
Does that include Mizrahi, East European/Russian etc etc etc? There is no 'pure' Jewish race, there are Jews who have different backgrounds, the concept of purity is itself racist!
The Jewish people were members of the 12 tribes but is being a Jew based on your mother or your faith is the bigger question.
I know that most former russian "jews" are from no tribe at all. They did not come from Israel but converted
Sorry to disappoint you. Among the 3 monotheistic religions,there is no such thing of purity pf race.... Probably the only 'purity of race' could be found in Tibet or very remote places in the world where the tribes are secluded & cut off from the outside world. David was the grand-child of Ruth a Moabite. a non-Jewess,woman,likewise uncountable numbers of Jews were born through mixed marriages,even unto this very day. So take another look., Nathan !
I get Nathan's sense of humour, but some others obviously didn't. The concept of trace is mainly 19th Century German and does not exist in Judaism. We have always accepted converts and they also speak of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel and Leah as 'Our fathers and Mothers'. The Moabites such as Ruth descend from Lot, Abraham's nephew.
Okay, according to the "Ministry of Interior" anyone who was converted to Judaism will be considered a Jew. However, the rubric for Religion has been scratched off, so it doesn't matter anyway. Or, maybe if the children of a non-Halachic conversion will discover that they will have to take their intended spouse to Cyprus, or, to the States, perhaps, to get married, return, and live in Israel. That is, of course, if the woman is not Halachically Jewish. If, however the woman is Halachically Jewish, or her grandmother was Jewish, the child will be able to marry any Halachic Jew they please. The bottom line is that you cannot get the Rabbinate to accept anyone as a candidate for marriage unless they are Halachically Jewish. Sadly, the child of a single parent mother whose "man" doesn't sign paternity papers isn't considered a candidate for marriage on the grounds of possible inscest. Heck, even the child of a Cohen and a Divorced woman can marry anyone but a Cohen. There are other Halachic rules, too. It's too bad, as well, that most Israelis, even those who are not Halachically Observant opt to bring Rabbis from the Rabbinate to perform the marriages. That fact of Jewish life, "disunites" Jews in the States, and will do the same in Israel in spite of the best efforts of the non-Halachic streams of Judaism that orginate in North America, so . . . Mr. Pfeffer can rant and rave all he wants, but there are some things he cannot change,
In the Mediteranean religion is treated differently. It's not some place you go when you want a "quiet place" away from for the real world. It is part of the real world. Judaism, if you didn't know is a Revealed religion that is based on Sacred texts, not some historical development that happened a few thousand years ago, though there are Jews who have different ideas about that who broke away from that notion. It's what you eat, its how you do business, it defines the person you are within your community. In fact, it means you are part of a nation that began with our Forefather Abraham. If you want to call that a cult, feel free, but if you ask most Believing Jews they will tell you otherwise.
The point of the law is purely to make it easier for Russiam olim to become formally Jewish. The law is proposed by a secvular political party and not a religious party. The law takes away the Haredi monopoly and allows city Rabbis to perform conversions that cannot be revoked by Haredim. The law does not change the status of American converts in any way.
your reasoning might be more compelling if israel wasn't utterly dependent on american jews
Israel is far from utterly dependent on American Jews. Perhaps from the aspect of eternity America is as great as she is because G-d blesses those that bless Israel. For some of us Americans G-d is part of the equation!
I am all for separation between religion and state and against orthodox monopoly. But this article's arrogant title leads me to believe that some US Jews have adapted an American sanctimonious concept of "being helpful" to the ignorant native in shaping up the wild Indian's morality. The proposed (and stopped) laws are stupid, not immoral, and the problem of orthodox monopoly in Israel has nothing to do with mixed marriages. As so many Americans Anshel sees the whole world through US eyes. Maybe we primitive and morally immature natives can help Americans understand that reality is a bit more complex, and that the history of the Jews in Israel has rendered reform Judaism alien
well, apparently israel needs a helping hand. case in point (among much else): convicting an arab of rape for not telling a jewish woman he was an arab. what American jew can help but feel "sanctimonious" about something so vile, and wish to change it?
Rape cases are among the most complicated in the legal system. In some systems a wife must give in to her husband's 'needs'; in others a man who forces his own wife is guilty of rape. In some systems a woman can change her mind even after the man's point of no return. In most civilised countries the USA is backward for allowing the death sentence. Americans see it differently. Another complex issue.
i'm not an american but i'm often annoyed by how vocal the americans are about certain issues and how silent they are on others. in recent years the americans are NEVER heard from in the european media unless they are A) defending one of israel's stupid mistakes, B) whining about the orthodox or C) whining about "assimilation". that's it. i don't think it was always this way and i don't think that every single american jew ignores the real problems in the world in their delusional zionist funtimes. if they really want to make a difference, they need to stop acting like the orthodox in israel care about what they have to say--they don't--and stop being israel's mouthpiece. there are 6 million jews in america, a large community by anyone's count. perhaps they should take it upon themselves to tackle issues that those in israel choose to ignore, rather than just parroting whatever the israelis say.
Anshel, i did not know a jurnalist can be that dumnb when the rate of birth between jew and arab is 1.2 to 4.5 then you see why however why if some one mary israel citizen why the do not go to other country that they whant to settle in israel because of social benifit ,freedom and more before you know you are minority under arab government if you do not mind that i and may of us mind so do not lecture us and do not tell us jewshi should do what OK?
I'm glad you're not in charge of our country, and that the vast majority realize how ridiculous your views are.