Posted on 01/19/2005 6:18:17 AM PST by ComtedeMaistre
I met an old friend at a high school reunion, and he informed me of plans he has to make an aliyah (immigrate) to Israel. What is interesting about the individual, is that he is a self-proclaimed deist, but one who was raised in a Jewish household (both parents Jewish), which makes him eligible to immigrate under Israel's law of return.
From him, I came to learn that anyone with a Jewish parent is eligible to immigrate to Israel. However, a gentile who converts to Reform or Conservative Judaism, is not eligible under Israel's law of return.
What this means, is that an anti-zionist atheist like Noam Chomsky is free to immigrate to Israel, because of his ancestral lineage, while a gentile convert to Judaism is not (unless he undergoes an Orthodox conversion).
I would like some expert on the issue to explain to what extent Judaism is a religion, and to what extent Jewish identity is inherited (i.e. ethnic) According to Israel's law of return, more weight is given to ethnic Jewish identity than to actual religious beliefs.
I'm not a rabbi, and I don't play one on TV, but I look at it as something like US citizenship - one can be born a citizen (or born Jewish), or one can be naturalized (or go through an orthodox conversion).
I always heard the answer to that question is .....yes
Ping for your opinion on the subject.
Judaism is a religion. One can convert to it, but this is usually not easy. Jewish identity is inherited, but has nothing to do with race - there are black Jews and Chinese Jews, for example. The Law of Return was designed to cover all persons who suffered persecution for being Jews during the Holocaust. Next question!
Sammy Davis always said he was a Jew, but I dont think he could have immigrated to Israel under the law of return.
You are conflating two separate issues.
The law of return, I believe, was set up to mirror Hitler's Jewish laws. Since Nazi laws defined a Jew as someone with one or more Jewish grandparents (the law was more narrow within Germany itself), Israel decided to give a safe haven to anyone who fit that definition -- even if that person is not religiously Jewish. For example, there are many Russian Orthodox Christians who have moved to Israel under the Law of Return and, once there, have set up Russian Orthodox churches where they worship freely. The law of return has nothing to do with religious practice or belief, or even with Zionist or anti-Zionist belief; it was enacted to enable Israel to be a place of sanctuary for those persecuted because of Jewish ancestry -- even those who may be opposed to the existence of Israel (in my opinion, a remarkable act of grace).
I do not know whether, as you say, people who convert to Judaism in non-Orthodox conversions are permitted to immigrate to Israel under the law of return. If this is true, there is logic behind this policy. Orthodox Judaism adheres to the body of rabbinic Jewish laws established over the past 2000 years (it really does, too -- Rabbis making a determination under Jewish law may refer to tens of sources from all over the world and writing over the entire period from before compilation of the Talmud to the present day). Conservative Judaism allows for much more liberal interpretations of Jewish law, and Reform Judaism does not consider earlier rulings of Jewish law to be binding.
The Orthodox conversion process is lengthy and difficult, and an Orthodox convert is universally accepted as a Jew. On the other hand, Reform and (to a lesser extent) Conservative conversions may be significantly less rigorous, and those converted by Reform and Conservative rabbis are not universally accepted as Jews.
From Israel's point of view, there would be no reason for Israel to allow people whom it does not consider Jewish to move to Israel under the law of return.
I should add that the law of return is not the only way for people to become citizens of Israel; it is the simplest, most non-bureaucratic means to do so. Further, it is not necessary to be a citizen of Israel in order to live there.
I seem to remember that there was a need to better integrate the Orthodox into the rest of the country when the State of Israel was founded. One way to do this was to yield to their beliefs on conversions. To settle in Israel, a convert would have to do the Orthodox conversion process.
Scrolling down to section B -
4B. For the purposes of this Law, "Jew" means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion."
Looks like the law was amended in 1970 to include converted Jews as well. I don't see anything in the law about conversion needing Orthodox approval but I certainly could be wrong. Alouette, any thoughts?
I would like some expert on the issue to explain to what extent Judaism is a religion, and to what extent Jewish identity is inherited (i.e. ethnic) According to Israel's law of return, more weight is given to ethnic Jewish identity than to actual religious beliefs.
I am not sure but I think that you are correct at least
about the mother. My daughter married a French Jew and their
daughter would not qualify because my daughter is not Jewish.
This is an old question with me. I believe that you have on
one hand the ethnic Jew and on the other religious Jew which
in most cases are combined.
Never mind, I see you basically answered the question already. :) Makes sense.
For many years the Chief Rabbinate had to approve all conversions, making sure that they were performed according to halachah. From the time this law was adopted there has been an effort to add the words according to halachah to all conversions.
Non-Orthodox demoninations have complained that their converts are "discriminated against" but opponents of non-Orthodox conversions maintain that there should be only one standard for conversion--allowing non-Orthodox conversions is a guarantee there will be no standards.
It's a question for greater minds than ours.
Reform or Conservative conversions done outside of Israel are recognized, but remember you don't have to be Jewish to be eligible under the right of return.
They are Hebrews that practice Judiasm......Jews.
I am an American that practices Christianity....Christian.
I think the question itself is too confused to be taken seriously. Is ethnicity the same as race? Is there a genuine scientific definition of race? How is ethnicity different from nationality or peoplehood?
Judaism (a word and concept that does not occur in ancient Hebrew, by the way) by most English language usages is religion. A convert, however, will have a very rough go without adopting 'ethnic' practices and outlooks. Critics of this approach almost always are expressing resentment of the fact that traditional Judaism insists on defining itself and its membership by its own rules without compromise.
The Torah itself uses the terms 'goy' (nation) and 'am' (people) to refer to Jews, as well as to Romans, Egyptians, Persians, etc.
One man's answer is at:
http://www.beingjewish.com/identity/race.html
Every so often I get this question. Usually, I am asked simply whether Judaism is an ethnicity or a race. One person phrased it to me this way:
"I am under the impression that "being Jewish" relates both to ethnicity (as in, someone is born Jewish), as well as a religion (as in, I converted to Judaism and therefore I am a Jew). Which is correct?"
What I cannot understand is: who cares? Why do people want to know? Of what relevance is this issue to being Jewish?
The Mesilas Yesharim, a seminal work in Jewish philosophy, has a chapter called "The Obligations of the Human in This World." He does not mention race or ethnicity even once in the entire chapter.
The fact is that as Jews, whether one is descended by maternal lineage from those who stood at Mount Sinai and accepted the Torah from Hashem, or whether one is a proper, full convert, or whether one is maternally descended from a proper, full convert, we are required to fulfill the Commandments of the Torah to the best of our abilities, and thus achieve self-actualization, holiness, and closeness to Hashem.
Words like "ethnicity," "religion," or even "race" are completely irrelevant to our obligations in this life. That's not the path to pursue. What is important is each individual's personal relationship with Hashem, and our relationship with Hashem as a People, as well as our relationships with our communities (roughly in that order)...
Thanks again, that's a very concise explanation.
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