president of the Rabbinical
Council of America, said his
group feels the issue should
not be decided in the Knesset.
"We feel it is a religious issue
and not a political issue," he
explained, adding that the
Council took that stand
because political cir-
cumstances can always
change and, if such matters
were left to the Knesset,
anything can be passed, in-
cluding a law adopting
patrilineal descent (classify-
ing as Jews those born of
Jewish fathers and non-Jeish
mothers).
Walfish said the objections
of Reform and Conservative
Jews to the proposed amend-
ment had no influence on his
group's stance, which was
decided on three years ago.
The rift between Orthodox
groups and Jews of Reform,
Conservative and secular
backgrounds was cited by one
observer as a principal reason
why the Law of Return should
not be amended. "I think the
impact would be disastrous in
that it would freeze the gulf
between Orthodox and non-
Orthodox Jews," said Charles
Silberman, a journalist and
scholar whose latest book, A
Certain People, dealt with the
current state of American
Jewry. Silberman said he also
felt the Israeli election results
would increase the pressure
on modern Orthodox Jews to
support the amendment out
of fear from their own right-
wing.
"I would hope that this
would provide a break bet-
ween modern Orthodoxy and
the right wing," Silberman
continued. But he added that
he saw events moving in the
oposite direction, with "Or-
thodoxy going to the right."
Rabbi Irving Greenberg,
president of a group which
seeks to strengthen Jewish
unit — CLAL, the National
Jewish Center for Learning
and Leadership — said he felt
the battle over who is a Jew
would be "a test of the
maturity" of American
Jewry's relationship with
Israel. We would soon see, he
said, whether people "can
fight (over an issue) and lose"
and then stay involved or
"take their marbles and go
home."
"My main hope," he said,
"is that no matter what hap-
pens, there will still be a
sense of family."

Aliyah Conclave

New York — B'nei Akiva of
North America's annual Na-
tional Aliyah Conference —
Mifgash Bogrim — will be
held Feb. 16-20 in New York
City.

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