Government nearly falls over conversion spat, then cuts off nose to spite face
The Jewish Home party vented its anger over a bill that would remove power over conversions from the Chief Rabbinate by having all its non-minister MK's walk out of a no-confidence vote. After the government survived the no-confidence vote by four votes, the coalition chairman removed all of the Jewish Home's bills from the agenda, including party leader Naftali Bennett's bill to lower food prices.
A Bayit Yehudi spokesman explained that the party's MKs walked out on
Bennett's instructions, after a new article was added to the
controversial conversion bill without the party's prior knowledge.
"The
Bayit Yehudi never learned coalition discipline or commitment to
agreements," Levin said following the walkout. "I will not give in to
extortion."
On Tuesday, a fierce political fight broke out between
Bayit Yehudi and its coalition partners over the bill on reforming the
conversion process, authored by MK Elazar Stern of Hatnua.
The
bill proposes to allow chief municipal rabbis to establish a rabbinical
conversion court in conjunction with one of the centrally appointed
rabbinical conversion judges and any other rabbi ordained by the Chief
Rabbinate.
A senior Bayit Yehudi source said on Tuesday that “if [
Justice Minister Tzipi] Livni was promised that her party’s conversion
bill would pass in exchange for voting for the three major bills
[ultra-Orthodox conscription, electoral reform and referendum on land
concessions], then that was an unfounded promise. We’re sorry someone
made a promise to her, but it’s not our problem.”
The source added that party will vote against the coalition if the Stern conversion bill goes to the plenum.
“A conversion bill will not pass without the support of the Religious Services Ministry,” the source said.
Which paragraph in this bill did the Jewish Home party not know about?
Will the 'Jewish Home' party listen to their rabbis?
Last week, I reported that the quid pro quo for the Tzipi Livni party's support for the three bills that were rammed through the Knesset last week (electoral reform, 'equal burden' and referendum) was that the coalition would support a bill introduced by MK Elazar Stern of the Tzipi Livni party that would essentially strip the Chief Rabbinate of its power over conversions. At the time, I asked:
Given that the 'Jewish Home' party regards itself as the primary
proponent of the idea that the state institutions of the State of Israel
(qua State) [have] religious significance, is the 'Jewish Home' party
actually going to support this bill?
On Wednesday morning, we got part of the answer. Their rabbis definitely will not support the bill. The 'Jewish Home' party's rabbis met this morning with Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef (the son of Rav Ovadiah Yosef zt"l, the founder of the Shas party) and agreed that the Chief Rabbinate will not recognize what it's calling "Stern's conversions" (link in Hebrew). But the bill passed the legislation committee of the Knesset on Wednesday morning.
Rabbi Yosef said that conversion will continue to be decided only based upon halacha (Jewish law) as determined by the Chief Rabbinate. According to Rabbi Yosef, the Knesset has nothing to say about conversion, and they are fooling people by saying otherwise. The result, should this bill pass, would be the administration of Sifrei Yuchsin (Lineage Books), without which it would be virtually impossible to marry here.
The rabbis signed a joint declaration saying that they would oppose the law. Tens of amendments, mostly introduced by MK Orit Struck (Jewish Home) were rejected. But Struck and MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) have demanded a revote, and so a revote must take place.
No word yet on how close the vote was in the Knesset legislation committee or who voted for or against - Israel Radio is on strike.
Will the 'Jewish Home' party listen to its rabbis?
UPDATE 1:23 PM
Reader Romy L points me to this post on Arutz Sheva's website on Tuesday, which claims that the 'Jewish Home' party is opposed.
The religious-Zionist Jewish Home responded by saying that the move
contradicts the Coalition agreement that stipulated that the Conversion
Law would be coordinated with the Chief Rabbis and the Ministry of
Religions. The Jewish Home is threatening to vote against the
Coalition's position in all of the votes that remain to be held in the
Law, Constitution and Justice Committee until the end of the Knesset's
winter session.
The winter session ends next week, however.
A threat to vote against the coalition for a week seems kind of empty.... But how quickly can we introduce a bill to repeal the 'equal burden' law?
'Jewish Home' party to support bill to strip Chief Rabbinate of powers over conversion?
In an earlier post, I reported on the pact with the devil made by the main parties in the coalition. Each of Likud/Beiteinu, Yesh Atid and Jewish Home agreed to force every member of its Knesset delegation to support three bills - electoral reform, Haredi draft and referendum. The tactic worked and the last of the bills - the referendum bill - passed the Knesset on Wednesday.
But there's a fourth party in the coalition - the Tzipi Livni party - which also voted in favor of all three bills. I hope you didn't think they're not getting something too. And indeed they are. The Hebrew daily Maariv is reporting on Thursday that the coalition has agreed to support the Tzipi Livni party's bill to strip the Chief Rabbinate of its exclusive powers over conversion in Israel.. Et tu Naftali Bennett?
The legislation, put forth by MK Elazar Stern (Hatnua), would allow
city rabbis to conduct conversions, and would allow potential converts
to choose the beit din (rabbinic court) they wish to convert with.
Currently, would-be converts are restricted to conversion via the
rabbinic court in their place of residence.
The bill’s supporters say it will ease the process of conversion to
Judaism while ensuring that state-recognized conversions adhere to the
requirements of halakha (Jewish law). Opponents warn that it could
effectively strip the Chief Rabbinate of its authority
over conversions, and could ultimately lead to rabbis being forced to
accept a definition of Jewishness that contradicts Jewish law.
Stern reportedly received a promise of Coalition support for his
bill, and in exchange, retracted objections he had made to various
clauses in the Enlistment Bill.
Sources in Hatnua and Likud explained, “Hatnua was unhappy that it
was being forced to support three laws, each of which it had some
problems with, without the party getting support for any law associated
with it. That led to the agreement on promoting Stern’s conversion
bill.”
Given that the 'Jewish Home' party regards itself as the primary proponent of the idea that the state institutions of the State of Israel (qua State) has religious significance, is the 'Jewish Home' party actually going to support this bill?
I can name two MK's - one from Jewish Home and one from Likud - who probably won't. Yoni Chetboun from Jewish Home and Moshe Feiglin from Likud. I have to wonder what others will do.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu failed to set an example for the Jewish people by not preventing his son from dating a non-Jewish Norwegian woman, Shas MK Nissim Ze'ev told The Jerusalem Post Sunday.
In what world is Ze'ev living? I'm sure that many parents wish it were so simple to just 'prevent' your adult children from dating whomever they please. It's not. Obviously, it would have helped if Netanyahu had given his older son a stronger Jewish education and had shown more of an example. For that he can be criticized. But the example he didn't set was for his son and not for the Jewish people. That's absurd.
There are others who think the problem can just be blinked away.
World Zionist Organization vice chairman David Breakstone, who
represents the worldwide Conservative movement, said he hopes that if
the relationship becomes serious she would want to convert to Judaism.
"The
laws should changed in order to enable Leikanger to convert to Judaism
as she and the Netanyahu family would understand it," Breakstone said.
"She should not be limited to a Judaism as understood and interpreted by
a Chief Rabbinate with an antiquated interpretation of Judaism that is
out of sync with the majority of Jews around the world."
Yeah.... When the standard is violated, just lower the standards.... No, thanks....
And by the way, I doubt the 'Netanyahu family' is thrilled about this either. Sara's family - the Ben Artzi's - is religious, and the younger son, Avner, finished third in the National Bible Contest a few years ago.
Most Israelis think views of American Jews on 'peace process' should not be taken seriously
When I saw the headline of this article - 32% of Israelis think US Jews should stay out of peace process - I was going to headline my post "That's all?"
But then I saw the blurb under the headline:
Poll finds nearly a quarter of Israelis are against accepting input from American Jewry on religious issues, but 66.3% of Israelis see the US Jewish community as having a positive influence on Israel's national security.
I decided that the 'nearly a quarter' was even more suspicious, and decided I'd better read the article before I start posting. Iwonder if the JPost editor who wrote the headline did the same....
Of the Israelis polled, 31.9 percent think Israeli
leaders should not take into account the positions of American Jews on the peace
process at all, and 33.6% said US Jewry’s views should be considered to a small
extent. Only 21.6% called for those views to be taken into account to a great
extent, and 9.4 to a very great extent.
In other words, 65.5% of Israelis think that American Jews' opinions on the 'peace process' should be given little or no account. And that's as it should be. It's our lives on the line - not yours (or theirs).
And on the religious issue...
On religious issues, such as
conversion or the government’s relations with the Conservative and Reform
movements, 24% of Israelis were against taking US Jewry’s positions into
account, and 30.6% said they should be considered to a small extent. Still,
Israelis are more willing to accept input from American Jews on religious issues
than on the peace process, with 25.1% saying it should be taken into account to
a great extent and 15.2% responding to a very great extent.
In other words, 54.6% of Israelis think that American Jews' opinions on conversion and on the Conservative and Reform movements should be given little or no account. And again. If you want to have the right to express an opinion about how we run our country, you ought to live here.
Yes, I express opinions about the US all the time. But I still file tax returns in the US every year and I'm still entitled to vote in the US (at least in federal elections). Let me stop filing tax returns and I won't have any more right than a Kenyan to express an opinion about the US.
And by the way, we still love you anyway, and we want you to love us too.
According to the poll’s results, 66.3% of Israelis see the
Jewish community in the US as having a very or somewhat positive influence on
Israel’s national security.
In addition, 76% of Israelis responded that
American Jewry’s support for Israel in the future will remain at the level it is
today or even grow stronger. However, when asked whether American Jews feel a
meaningful connection to Israel, 51% felt that half or less than half of US
Jewry feel that connection.
But love us like you love your adult children who make their own decisions, and not like your younger children for whom you still decide everything.
This campaign ad by the Haredi Shas party is being blasted as racist in the media. For the Hebrew-impaired, the ad shows a very obviously Russian bride telling her groom that she converted by dialing *Giyur.
Let's go to the videotape.
In the 1990's, the Jewish Agency decided to fill immigrant 'quotas' by recruiting non-Jews to move to Israel to improve their economic lot. No, not all Russians are non-Jews. But a substantial number are, and this is not the first time that the chattering classes here have chosen to ignore the issue by branding anyone who raises it as 'racist.'
There's nothing wrong with Shas raising the issue.
How it feels to be threatened by terrorists because you're a Jew
Some of you may recognize Anne Lieberman's name from her blog, Boker Tov Boulder. And although we have never met in person, I had Anne's son in my house for Shabbat when he was here studying in yeshiva. Anne gives a unique perspective on what it's like to be threatened by Islamic terrorists because she's a Jew. That's because she's a convert.
It
was not until some years later that this risk was brought home to me,
when I watched one of those Hamas "martyr" videos. You know the ones I
mean, the recordings made by suicide bombers before they went off to
detonate themselves among Jews in the hope of a "successful" mass
murder. The first one said his message to the "loathed" Jews was this:
"...we
will chase you everywhere. We are a nation that drinks blood and we
know that there is no blood better than the blood of Jews. We will not
leave you alone until we have quenched our thirst with your blood, and
our children's thirst with your blood. We will not leave until you leave
the Muslim countries."
The
second terrorist spoke on camera as his mother helped him dress for
"battle" prior to his suicide mission. To the Jews this one said, "In
the name of Allah, we will destroy you, blow you up, take revenge
against you [and] purify the land of you..."
Having
once been a non-Jew, I realized that not everyone would feel as
personally threatened by this language as I did. Simultaneously I
realized -- to the extent I was able -- what it felt like to be
threatened by hate. This hate was neither passing nor superficial; it
was as permanent, uncompromising and deep as it could be. I realized
this was what the rabbis had warned me of, that there were indeed people
in this world who didn't know me from Adam but because of my adoption,
my choice, my love of a religion, a tradition, a people and a land, they
literally "thirsted" for my blood.... because now my blood was Jewish
blood. Its DNA, pretty much all White Anglo-Saxon, had nothing to do
with it.
I
wrote about my reaction at the time: "When you read that 'there is no
blood better than the blood of Jews,' you are tempted to laugh and cry
and vomit all at the same time, but you end up doing none of those
because you can't really wrap your mind around it. I guess this is what
shock feels like, an odd sensation of lack of sensation."
Over
time the shock wore off and I came to accept as a fact of my life that
-- like it or not -- I had enemies, and very determined ones. I learned
not to distance myself by saying "you" instead of "I," so that now I can
own all of it -- my birth, my history, my families and yes, my Jewish
blood.
What enables a Jew to live like this? What gives us the strength?
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
