By Haaretz and COLlive
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he opposes the conversion bill proposed by Yisrael Beiteinu, saying it will “tear apart the Jewish people.”
Last week, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved the draft on conversion reform, a bill that has sparked outrage among Reform and Conservative Jewish communities in Israel and abroad.
The draft, which was prepared by committee chairman MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), would assign the authority on matters of conversion in Israel to the Chief Rabbinate.
Netanyahu, who has previously said he would block the proposed legislation from making it to a vote in the Knesset, on Sunday said he would ensure Likud ministers vote against the bill if it does reach the Knesset.
“The bill could tear apart the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
“We will make the effort to stop the bill from reaching the Knesset, but if it is not removed, I will ask the Likud members and members of other parties to vote against it.”
But Minister of Minority Affairs and a Labour politician Avishay Braverman slammed the bill during the cabinet meeting and said “it is not possible that this topic will be a raised for the Knesset’s approval.”
“It is inconceivable that more than 85 percent of U.S. Jewry would become second rate Jews,” he added.
Last week’s approval was needed before parliament could vote on the bill. It has to pass three rounds of voting before becoming law, a process that will likely take months.
In 1962, Israeli immigration laws started to accept applications for Israeli citizenship if there is proven documentation that any grandparent was Jewish — even if it was not the maternal grandmother.
The Rebbe lobbied politicians to pass legislation in accordance with Halacha on the question “Who is a Jew” and declare that “only one who is born of a Jewish mother or converted according to Halacha is Jewish.”
It looks to me like a power grab by a rabbanut that already had thousands of gerisins mevateled. This is a political ploy and will not stop the problem in Israel. No Jewish legislation was ever heard in Knesset and this is no exception. My advice, stay away from this, there will be no winners.
youre both right, i shouldve been more respectful of rabbi hecht – perhaps i was simply surprised at the fact that he – and it seems you – are simply unaware of the background of that sicha; i apologize for any disrespect. as to the sicha itself, this was said during the height of the mihu yehudi controversy when the Rebbe was leading the battle against the terrible gezeyra as we all remember. at that time merkos issued a directive to shluchim not to get invovled (publicly or privately). they came under scathing attack by (well menaing?) people, like yourselves,… Read more »
Your’e wrong. Genetic testing has confirmed that “most Jewish populations are not significantly different from one another at the genetic level”. This means that Ashkenazim are no more descended from converts than are any other community of Jews.
Dear anonymouss, I listended the Sicha of the Rebbe you are referring to, and the Rebbe does not mention mehu yehudi at all but instructs shluchim not to get involved in matters that do not pertain to their local shlichus, but to make a dirah btachtonim and to stay out of controversy that may impede their work. this does not preclude everyone from using their influence in a private letter to support giyur k”halacha. Please be respectful, when you respond to a person’s positive letter. I am sure the lower case r in Rebbe was a typo. and it does… Read more »
Just listened very closely to the sicha you are referring to and there is no mention of any kind to Mehu Yehudi.That being said when you do write a letter or comment on a particular person especially in the nine days even though you don’t agree with them you can still refer to him with his title( Ahvas Yisroel )I think the Rebbe spoke about that in EVERY SICHA! It sounds like you are still in yeshiva when you do such a thing and have not traveled to the real world. With regards to the Chabad leadership I think that… Read more »
BH Every Chabad person [including Shluchim without possible publicly identifying themselves ] should use every effort to illistrate why the law should be according to Halacha. The law as it is now stated ,dissqualifies all real halchic Jews and real Gerim that worked with correct determination to achieve becoming a Jew. The Knesset has no right legally to qualify who is a Jew. The Reform and conservative movments have always stated that conversion must be according to halacha. The Jewsih Agency personaly encouraged non Jewish Russian immigrants to declare they are Jewish,upon arrival and during flights into Austria in the… Read more »
You mention the Rebbe, but just wondering
1) shouldnt Rebbe be capital R (at least the same honor you give the PM),
and more importantly –
2) you seem to be upset with our “leadership being silent”, are you referring to lubavitch leadership? if yes, they operate according to the instructions of the Rebbe as per his very clear words of 24 Teves 5749 regarding this issue.
if youre referring to the general orthodox leadership – then your point is very well taken – indeed your letter should be widely disseminated throghout the orthodox jewish world.
Mr. Prime minister you are so worried about tearing apart the Jewish nation but by blocking the vote you are doing exactly that.
you are weakening the the identity of our people.
so let’s not try fool anybody. Be honest with yourself and your people or you will become history. Good Luck
I don’t get you. Halachik conversions are 100% ok. Mihu Yehudi isn’t about accepting converts or not. It’s about who is considered a Jew, ie, born of a Jewish mother or converted according to HALACHA. The problem is when you have people believing they’re Jewish because they paid $$ to a Reform temple to get a certificate stating they’re Jewish or their grandfather was Jewish. Some of them truly believe they’re Jewish. Some have children who become “baali teshuvah”. At some point, they have a rude awakening. I hope this bill can fix that. Does anyone have the exact wording… Read more »
I still don’t understand what the big deal is. I mean virtually ALL ASHKENAZIM ARE DECEDENTS OF CONVERTS. So what is the big deal?
Or you think Moshe Rabbeinu’s last name was Goldberg? or Goldstein?
This is a copy my office sent to the Prime Ministers Office. Below is the text and email address. I encourage all readers to copy the letter and send it our under your name. Why should we allow the anti Torah forces to prolong the pain of mi hu yehudi? It is amazing and upsetting that we have not organized a world wide email etc and letter campaign in support of correcting the problem of Mi Hu Yehuidi.. We all heard from the rebbe FIRSTHAND what is needed to be done – and now our leadership is SILENT????? Here is… Read more »
I agree with you. Politics is not for Chabad.
Thats why the Rebbe said we should NOT get involved in Israeli politics!
That Bibi is once again not doing what is good for the Jews! Unfortunately, this sets the tone and we will continue to see disappointment from Bibi on Land “for Peace”, as he sold us out in the past. Chabad of Israel should never have endorsed him (even for bribes of money).
This means that the knesset is being given another chance to vote for halacha and make it clear who is a Jew and who is not (but rather has a Jewish grandparent or “converted” not according to halacha), not the way it is till now where the government is considering people that aren’t Jewish as Jews.
what does this mean essentially?