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When ‘who is a Jew?’ becomes ‘who decides who can be a Jew?’

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/58949/full/58949/when-who-is-a-jew-becomes-who-decides-who-can-be-a-jew/ When ‘who is a Jew?’ becomes ‘who decides who can be a Jew?’ Thursday, August 19, 2010 | by Rabbi David Booth Ki Teitzei Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 Isaiah 54:1-54:10 <img alt="rabbi david booth 2" class="left" height="200" src="/images/uploads/column_pics/torah/rabbi david booth 2.jpg" title="rabbi david booth 2" width="126" />Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are about the individual spirit, but also about the national spirit. This is the time to take stock ourselves as individuals and also as a people. I firmly believe our national health depends on klal Yisrael — a sense of shared Jewish purpose that transcends all other labels. One great challenge to klal Yisrael, the sense of shared Jewish identity, is the recent controversy around conversion in Israel. Who controls conversion in the state of Israel has become extremely controversial in recent years from two perspectives. First is an issue of religious pluralism. Israel’s state-sponsored rabbinate has always been controlled by Orthodoxy. As a result, the Conservative and Reform movements have struggled for acceptance over the years. In particular, they have wanted their converts to be accepted by the state as Jews. This acceptance would allow them to be married and buried as Jews. Second, and in some ways of greater significance, is the acceptance of Russian aliyah to Israel. Israel has absorbed well over a million refugees from the former Soviet Union. Among those refugees welcomed were many whose mothers were not Jewish or who had been married to Jews but never converted. There are as many as 400,000 people in this category. As the wave of Russians arrived, they had a great interest in converting to Judaism and being fully accepted by the society. After all, the Soviet Union often identified them as Jews; the Jewish state lovingly welcomed them. The Masorti (Conservative) movement has been particularly energetic in reaching out to this community and educating them about Judaism. The religious establishment funded by the State of Israel expects converts to agree to live an Orthodox life before being converted. Further, one of the more notably accepting Orthodox courts found one of its conversion decisions overturned about two years ago by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who is part of this state-established structure. This decision created fear for thousands who had converted, worried that their conversions could be overturned retroactively. As a result, David Rotem, a member of the Yisrael Beiteinu party (composed largely of immigrants from the former Soviet Union), put forward legislation that would have given power to local cities to officiate at conversions. His intent remains murky, but appeared focused on making it easier for Russians to convert by firmly giving localities control over conversions. After the bill was proposed, however, the religious parties inserted an amendment that gives ultimate conversion oversight to certain judges appointed by the state rabbinate. Should this bill pass, it would remove the limited role the Conservative and Reform movements have in conversion in Israel. It would allow scrutiny of every conversion, including those from Orthodox rabbis, by an increasingly ultra-Orthodox rabbinate. It would likely make the acceptance of these people from the former USSR impossible. Though the bill has been put on hold, it remains under consideration. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his opposition. Yet Rotem insists he wants to see it move forward. I am a fan of Orthodoxy and the contributions that movement has made to Jewish life and learning. However, I am also a believer in a Judaism broader than any one movement. We cannot survive without an Orthodox Judaism; neither can we survive without the rest of the Jewish tapestry. Israel as the home of the Jewish people must continue to embrace the whole Jewish world. The same nation that rescued Jews from Ethiopia, Yemen and now Russia must continue to embrace the broadest definition of Judaism. The courage that inspired Israel to risk lives to save lives must now be applied politically. This is why the prime minister himself is opposed to the Rotem bill. May this be a year in which we reconnect to our own deepest values and rediscover a great love for the whole Jewish people. Rabbi David Booth is the spiritual leader at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:RabbiBooth@kolemeth.org">RabbiBooth@kolemeth.org</a>.

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