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`Who Is A Jew'

From the pages of The Jewish News
for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.

Parliamentary maneuver puts issue into Israeli spotlight.

JESSICA STEINBERG
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

en an American immigrant recently asked
the Chief Rabbinate for permission to marry
her Israeli boyfriend, the Jewish state's
Orthodox establishment turned her down.
In order to marry under Jewish law in Israel, the woman
would have to re-convert to Judaism, rabbis told her.
Her mother, who had converted to Judaism before she
was born, did not have an Orthodox conversion.
Instead of taking the easy way out — a
civil marriage outside Israel — the woman
is undergoing another conversion.
"People don't want just a civil mar-
riage," said Rabbi Uri Regev, director of
the Israel Religious Action Center, a legal
advocacy arm in Israel of the Reform
E
movement. "They're brainwashed to
think that would make their kids MaMZ-
erim- bastards — in the eyes of the
state. They want the option of civil and .e.,
also Reform and Conservative marriages."
Those options still aren't available in
Israel. And a recent incident in the
Knesset has reopened the emotional,
controversial debate over "Who is a Jew."
In late September, the Knesset
Finance Committee turned down a gov-
ernment request for funding of the
Joint Conversion Institute. The institute
was set up in 1999 in accordance with a
government commission to prepare can-
didates for conversion, with a panel of
five Orthodox rabbis, one Conservative
rabbi and one Reform rabbi.
The Finance Ministry earmarked
nearly $1.6 million in funding.
But two Orthodox Knesset members, committee chair-
man Yakov Litzman and Moshe Gafni of the United Torah
Judaism Party, convened the session and rejected the budg-
et request before other committee members arrived.
"I don't think it's fair that the institute should get 7 mil-
lion shekels ($1.6 million) and the rabbinate only gets half
a million ($120,000), when only 15 percent of the con-
verts go through the institute," Litzman said. "Second of
all, we want all converts to go through the rabbinate,"
since conversion "shouldn't just be given out on the street."

"What happened in the Knesset Finance Committee was
purely political, because I know that most of the MKs sup-
port the work of this institute," said Benjamin Ish-Shalom,
who heads the institute. "An action like this completely
disrupts our activity and it causes damage in peoples' lives."
Some 2,000 immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet
Union converted to Judaism in the last year. Another
300,000 Russian immigrants are not halachically Jewish
and require conversion to be considered Jewish for matters
of personal status — such as marriage — in Israel.
According to Ish-Shalom, the institute currently has
2,500 conversion students in 140 classes throughout the
country. But some activities will have to be curtailed until

"People want the option of
civil and also Reform and
Conservative marriages."

— Rabbi Uri Regev

"I don't think Israelis are terribly
interested in Conservative or
Reform Judaism for themselves."

Halting Classes?

J14

10/26
2001

30

Institute supporters were disappointed, saying the lack of
funding could severely curtail the institute's activities.

— Jonathan Rosenblum

funds are available, he said. This could happen as soon as
the next Finance Committee meeting.
But that won't solve the problem, liberal rabbis say.
"I don't believe the institute is the answer to the conver-
sion crisis," Rabbi Regev said. "It won't deliver mass con-
versions because the Chief Rabbinate won't facilitate the
large-scale conversions of people that everybody knows
aren't going to be observant Jews."
That, according to Orthodox writer Jonathan
Rosenblum, is precisely the problem with the institute.
"Conversion isn't a Jewish knowledge test," Rosenblum
said. Many Orthodox officials believe converts must pledge
to follow a strictly observant lifestyle.

WHO Is A JEw on page 31

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The U.S. Post Office issued stamps
celebrating comedians, including
Fanny Brice and Jack Benny.
The Michigan Jewish Sports Hall
of Fame named Heather Davis and
Eddie Wolkind its first annual ath-
letes of the year.

OK,

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Angry outbursts rocked the Tel Aviv
Mann Auditorium when the Israel
Philharmonic played a work by
Wagner.
The Jewish Agency was giving
preferential treatment to new immi-
grants who settled in the Galilee.
The first human rights award of
Women's American ORT was pre-
sented to the Rev. Theodore M.
Hesburgh, president of the
University of Notre Dame.

The memberships of Congregation
Beth Abraham and Congregation Beth
Hillel signed an agreement merger.
Gary S. Alter of Oak Park was
appointed director of the East
Central Region of the American
Technion Society.

alW4
The Hillel Foundation at the
University of Connecticut organized
a club to provide social and cultural
programs to unmarried Jewish grad-
uate students and faculty.
The Arab League announced that
all of Eddie Cantor's films would be
banned in the league's member coun-
tries in the Middle East and Africa.
Detroiter Jack Hornfeld joined
the staff of Braverman Kosher
Meats on West Seven Mile Road.

Detroiter Sam Lieberman, former
basketball star at Central High
School and Lawrence Tech, joined
the staff at Jerry Beilfield Ford.
Detroiter Solomon Chinitz was
elected president of Congregation
Mogen Abraham.

— Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant

