B who is a jew. Israel decides
BUSHBADEE
Israel High Court Rules on Converts
By YOAV APPEL
.c The Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) - The state must officially recognize conversions to Judaism by
Reform and Conservative groups in Israel, the nation's Supreme Court has ruled
- a landmark decision that the non-Orthodox groups praised as a step toward
equality for their movements.
The effect of Wednesday's ruling by the 11-justice panel seems very limited for
now. It would force the Interior Ministry to identify those converted by
non-Orthodox rabbis as Jews in the ``nationality'' clause on their ID cards,
but the Orthodox Jewish establishment that controls marriages, divorces and
burials for Jews could continue to refuse services to such converts.
Still, secular and non-Orthodox religious groups called the decision an
important step. The Conservative, Reform and other more liberal Jewish
movements are dominant in the United States but marginal here.
``Jews from all streams are now recognized as legitimate, without
distinction,'' said Rabbi Andy Sacks of the Conservative Movement in Israel. He
said his movement expected thousands of conversion applications in coming days.
American Reform Jewish leader Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch praised the decision. ``For
the first time in the history of Israel, the Supreme Court is compelling the
government to recognize the Reform movement,'' he told The Associated Press.
``We do not expect or even desire that the orthodox elements are going to
recognize us.''
The Orthodox, meanwhile, vowed to reverse the ruling. Interior Minister Eli
Yishai, who also heads the ultra-Orthodox Party Shas, said he would prepare a
bill to get around the decision; while religious groups are a minority in
parliament, they have influence and such a bill might be adopted.
Yishai said he would look into whether it was possible to identify the converts
on their IDs as ``Reform Jews'' or ``Conservative Jews'' specifically.
Chief Rabbi Israel Yisrael Meir Lau said the court had interfered with
centuries of tradition and warned that ``the decision will totally confuse
those converts whose conversion is not according to (Orthodox) Jewish law''
because it raised expectations that could not be met.
For example, Orthodox rabbis here would continue to refuse to marry couples who
are not both considered Jewish by the Orthodox rabbinate, said religious
legislator Rabbi Avraham Ravitz. And the ruling doesn't change the fact that
the state recognizes only Orthodox marriages and civil marriages performed
abroad.
The ruling would also apparently distinguish between non-Orthodox conversions
performed abroad or in Israel for purposes of acquiring citizenship, since
those converted by non-Orthodox rabbis inside the country would still not
necessarily be eligible for automatic citizenship under Israel's ``Law of
Return'' for Jews.
``This ruling need not decide the legal question .. of whether Reform or
Conservative conversion satisfies what is required by the Law of Return,'' the
justices wrote.
Rabbi Jerome Epstein of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which
represents about 800 congregations in North America, cautioned that it was too
soon to know the impact of the ruling, but felt it sent an important message
about non-Orthodox branches of Judaism.
``For the first time, on this issue, the court has said that Conservative
rabbis who convert someone according to the proper procedures are legitimate.
That in itself is a very powerful statement,'' said Epstein, who was at the
courthouse when the ruling was released.
Many immigrants welcomed the decision.
Carmen Avrouskine, a Romanian immigrant who underwent a Reform conversion that
had not been recognized by the state, said it gave her ``a feeling of victory
... that there is justice.''
Avrouskine's problem is typical of many immigrants': her father is Jewish and
her mother is not - and since Orthodoxy recognizes only a maternal line of
descent the Orthodox rabbis refused to register her as Jewish.
Traditionally, Orthodox Judaism does not seek converts, and prospective
converts usually must pass a period of study and a conversion procedure before
a religious court.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations based in
New York City, representing more than 900 Reform synagogues, said he would be
watching to see if the decision was overturned by parliament. He also noted
that Reform marriages and other rituals still were not recognized.
``It's an important victory. It's a significant step forward. At the same time,
this does not mean we have equality under Israeli law,'' he said.
Hirsch, the rabbi who is executive director of the Association of Reform
Zionists of America/World Union for Progressive Judaism, saw the ruling as a
step toward strengthening Jewish unity worldwide.
``The last thing we need right now is a renewed international struggle over who
is a Jew,'' Hirsch said in a statement. He was at the courthouse when the court
issued its ruling.
Editors: AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll contributed to this report.
AP-NY-02-21-02 0457EST
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Susan Cohen
BUSHBADEE wrote:
> Israel High Court Rules on Converts
Israeli law is not and never has been Jewish religious law.
Susan