Rabbi Bob Orkand is the President of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America.
We
have learned that the Knesset may vote as soon as Tuesday on
legislation that would make important changes to the Law of Return,
which sets forth who can claim Israeli citizenship. This particular
legislation would target converts to Judaism.
The various arms of our Movement are asking that
urgent messages of protest be sent to Michael Oren, the Israeli
Ambassador to the United States, and to Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.
We cannot permit the ultra-Orthodox parties in
Israel to push through legislation without regard to the millions of
Diaspora Jews who are active, dedicated and devoted members of the
Jewish people who identify themselves with non-Orthodox streams of
Judaism.
The bill sponsored by MK David Rotem of Yisrael
Beitenu, deals with both the authority of the Chief Rabbinate and
matters of Conversion. The Rotem Bill does three things:
- It grants legal authority to the Chief Rabbinate for conversions.
While until now there has been de facto recognition, this legislation
gives legal recognition to the role of the Chief Rabbinate in this
area. The result would be that it would become much more difficult for
conversions to be performed by Reform, Conservative and more
open-minded Orthodox rabbis. - It provides for the ability of local rabbis in Israel to establish
conversion courts. This is a part of the bill of which we can support
because it will potentially permit the establishment of more forward
looking conversion courts. However, if the first part of the bill
passes, the Chief Rabbinate may declare these courts null and void,
which would obviate any reason for our support. - Section 3 of this bill is the most highly problematic. This section
states that anyone that who entered Israel as a non-Jew and then
converted to Judaism–either in Israel or the Diaspora–would not be
eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return. This is precisely the
case that is now before the Supreme Court, which asks that conversions
in Israel by non-Orthodox rabbis be recognized and that citizenship
rights be granted to our converts. This is an attempt to go around the
Supreme Court. Further, the wording is so vague that it could mean that
if such a person had visited Israel at any time, no matter when, that
person’s conversion would not be recognized for citizenship in the
future. Thirdly this would be the first time that Israel is officially
making a distinction between one who is born a Jew and a righteous
convert, something that we find insulting.
In the last 48 hours, there have been negotiations between MK David
Rotem, the sponsor of this legislation, and the ultra-Orthodox parties.
The Israeli media reports that these negotiations might lead to adding
provisions which would block Reform and Conservative conversions in
Israel. In response, Reform Movement leaders around the world are in
contact with Israeli government officials in an effort to block this
legislation.
THEREFORE, ARZA URGES THAT THE FOLLOWING LETTER OR ITS EQUIVALENT BE SENT TO AMBASSADOR OREN AND PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU
The Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
Office of the Prime Minister
Jerusalem, IsraelDear Prime Minister Netanyahu,
We write to request your immediate intervention to prevent passage of the legislation being brought forward by MK David Rotem.
Passage of this bill in its present form, especially section 3, will
have the effect of altering the Law of Return or, at the least, cause
undue hardship to anyone in Israel who has come from Diaspora
communities and seeks conversion in Israel.While the Reform movement is supportive of efforts to create greater
accessibility to conversion courts in Israel and have done all we can
to aid in this effort, the overall impact of the Rotem Bill will set
back these efforts. Should this bill be enacted, it will exacerbate a
widening gap between Diaspora and Israel communities, which we are all
working very hard to avoid.Therefore, we believe it is imperative that you, Israel’s leader,
who cares so deeply about the well-being of our people, intervene and
urge withdrawal of this bill.
The email for Prime Minister Netanyahu is: Prime.Minister’[email protected]
For Ambassador Oren’s office: [email protected]