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Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar. (Archives)
Last update - 06:01 21/11/2006
Chief Rabbinate prepares bill to remove converts from Law of Return
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent

Converts will no longer be recognized as Jews under the Law of Return, according to a bill formulated by the Chief Rabbinate and presented to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a few days ago. The revolutionary bill is now awaiting a decision by the prime minister whether to make it a government-sponsored bill.

The bill was initiated by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar in an effort to block the possibility that the High Court of Justice could recognize Reform conversions carried out in Israel. Amar expects the government to adopt the initiative after other solutions proposed by the state to the High Court, such as a recent suggestion to establish a second Ne'eman Committee to discuss conversions, seemed no more than stall attempts.

The Chief Rabbinate said Monday the proposal was an egalitarian one that would withstand the scrutiny of the High Court. It argued the bill would "close the loophole" in the Law of Return that allowed foreign workers to convert in order to receive Israeli citizenship.
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However if the law passes, it is likely to lead to a major crisis between Israel and the Diaspora.

The bill would give rabbinic courts and the Chief Rabbinate sole authority over conversions, as another bill, which did not pass, had also stated. The main element in the bill is a change in the clause defining a Jew for the purposes of the Law of Return. At present the clause defines a Jew as a person born to a Jewish mother or who converted to Judaism. The bill proposes that an the only individuals recognized as Jewish by the Law of return will be those born to a Jewish mother.

In the past, the Orthodox political parties had attempted to change this clause to include only Orthodox converts in accordance with halakha (Jewish law). This demand was rejected by successive Israeli governments due to concern over relations with Jewish communities outside of Israel, especially the Jewish establishment in the United States, where non-Orthodox Jews predominate.

The Chief Rabbinate argued Monday that Interior Minister Roni Bar-On supports the initiative. However an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said Bar-On was not familiar with it.

The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the legal advocate of the Reform Movement in Israel, called Monday on Olmert to reject the Amar initiative, which it said would "bring about a rupture between Israel and most of the Jews in the world."

IRAC's Rabbi Gilad Kariv said Monday, "It turns out that Rabbi Amar's hatred for non-Orthodox streams is so great that it leads him to harm the basic principle that there is no difference between a convert and an individual who is born Jewish."

MK Zevulun Orlev, the chairman of the National Union-National Religious Party, expressed his support Monday for Amar's bill, which he said would "protect the unity of the Jewish people and prevent a rift that would be caused by recognizing Reform conversions." Orlev added that the passing of the bill would be a test of the ability of Shas as a member of cabinet to impact the Jewish character of the state.

The Conservative Masorati Movement in Israel said it opposed Amar's bill, which it called an attempt to detour around the High Court of Justice.
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  1.   uhhh how disgusting... 02:39  |  Maya Roth 21/11/06
  2.   Converts 03:02  |  Bat Sarah 21/11/06
  3.   Good: Let him start with the converts of the eighth century 03:20  |  Hannah 21/11/06
  4.   Mistake 03:22  |  ER 21/11/06
  5.   Good idea 03:25  |  Chaim Berman 21/11/06
  6.   Jewish mother or Orthodox conversions/ to Maya 03:35  |  Lubnani Yehudi 21/11/06
  7.   Tribal 03:38  |  Fred Goepfert 21/11/06
  8.   Jewish State, huh? 03:49  |  Yehuda 21/11/06
  9.   One for all and all for one 04:03  |  Bernie 21/11/06
  10.   Willing TO Be A JEW 04:14  |  TOBIA 21/11/06
  11.   conversion 04:31  |  dubious 21/11/06
  12.   Breaks my heart 04:39  |  Jacob 21/11/06
  13.   And how about... 04:44  |  Webster 21/11/06
  14.   An Appeal To Rabbi Amar 04:47  |  Zvi-Hersch Blum 21/11/06
  15.   Anything to avoid peace 04:49  |  Mike 21/11/06
  16.   This bill is bad 05:06  |  Ben 21/11/06
  17.   False claims by Reform rabbis 05:20  |  Sim 21/11/06
  18.   Rabbi Akiva & King David 05:25  |  Fernando 21/11/06
  19.   Twelve Tribes 05:37  |  Joseph E . 21/11/06
  20.   CONVERTS ARE NOT JEWS 05:43  |  Steve 21/11/06
  21.   Law of Return 05:43  |  Ray Aronson 21/11/06
  22.   Willing To Be A JEW 05:45  |  Ray 21/11/06
  23.   The messiah comes from Convert lineage 06:04  |  Shmuel 21/11/06
  24.   power grab 06:11  |  Ezra 21/11/06
  25.   So sad... 06:14  |  David 21/11/06
  26.   Time to get rid of the official rabbinate 06:19  |  Rob 21/11/06
  27.   #9, Tobia 06:20  |  Hannah 21/11/06
  28.   To Chaim Berman 06:28  |  David Daoud 21/11/06
  29.   #10, Dubious 06:28  |  Hannah 21/11/06
  30.   No one knows Any Torah HERE 06:29  |  Scott 21/11/06
  31.   Orthodox Oppression 06:32  |  David Cohen 21/11/06
  32.   Need Help? Look Elsewhere 06:46  |  Bat Sarah 21/11/06
  33.   #14, Zvi Hersch Bloom and his courageous Wife 06:51  |  Hannah 21/11/06
  34.   wow 06:58  |  Omar 21/11/06
  35.   Fanatic Theocrats Proving the World Right 07:08  |  Kahanah Die 21/11/06
  36.   Not who is a Jew: Who is a rabbi. 07:16  |  Abbushuki 21/11/06
  37.   Let The Rabbinate Be The Jews! 07:23  |  Yosemite Sam 21/11/06
  38.   Shlomo Amar`s hateful arrogance will divide Israel. 07:25  |  Zuriel 21/11/06
  39.   DNA 07:28  |  Fernando 21/11/06
  40.   Converts NOT Welcomed (specially for marriage) 07:31  |  Joseph HaSalvadorean 21/11/06
  41.   Call My People Israel 07:34  |  John Isenhower 21/11/06
  42.   TORAH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST REAL CONVERTS! ))))))))))) 07:37  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH 21/11/06
  43.   The Best Rabbi 07:37  |  Yosemite Sam 21/11/06
  44.   Dissapointing 07:38  |  Stephen 21/11/06
  45.   ATTN: STEVE # 20 (see response #14) 07:38  |  ZVI HERSCH BLUM 21/11/06
  46.   THIS IS ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO DENY REAL JEWS THE PROMISED LAND))))) 07:41  |  MOSHIACH TIMES)))))) 21/11/06
  47.   David daoud 07:42  |  Zvi Hersh Blum 21/11/06
  48.   #27 DNA, and everyone regarding this legislation 08:18  |  Zvi 21/11/06
  49.   to #44 Stephen 08:28  |  Scott 21/11/06
  50.   Revolutionary bill 08:30  |  Dani Reiss 21/11/06
  51.   The moral universe dictates Jews discriminate against Jews 08:45  |  Joe 21/11/06
  52.   Does the Rabbi Come from converts ? 09:00  |  Raymond 21/11/06
  53.   Ignorance 09:09  |  Frank Benzaquen 21/11/06
  54.   I forgot 09:22  |  Frank Benzaquen 21/11/06
  55.   Jews for Jesus are more Jewish than converts to Judaism??? 09:23  |  Zvi-Hersch Blum 21/11/06
  56.   Jews for Jesus are Jews but converts to orthodox Judaism are not? 09:27  |  Zvi-Hersch Blum 21/11/06
  57.   Splitting the People - AGAIN 10:05  |  Tikvah 21/11/06
  58.   Stop All Monetary Support 10:09  |  NotAmused 21/11/06
  59.   If this despicable bill is passed ... 10:10  |  Baruch ben Avraham 21/11/06
  60.   Rabbinate fools, should do something for ""AGUNOT"" 10:16  |  DR MANUCH 21/11/06
  61.   Who would want to convert to Judaism? 10:18  |  Brian 21/11/06
  62.   DID MR AMAR GO TO ARMY?? 10:22  |  REUVEN 21/11/06
  63.   1997 Orthodox Declaration:"Reform & Conservative are NOT Judaism" 10:24  |  Sim 21/11/06
  64.   More religious establishment racism 10:28  |  Avraham Hanadari 21/11/06
  65.   #20 Steve: Your disregard of Torah is disgusting 10:28  |  Isaac 21/11/06
  66.   United States Jews 10:31  |  David Lilienfeld 21/11/06
  67.   Moshiach isn`t Jewish Enough 10:42  |  PJ 21/11/06
  68.   What comes next ? 10:42  |  franck_m 21/11/06
  69.   converts 10:45  |  robyn 21/11/06
  70.   Hannah`s typical anti-semtic B.S. 10:45  |  Chaim 21/11/06
  71.   Remind Rabbi Amar He Is Not The Pope. 10:49