Outrage at far-right plan to ban aliyah for non-Orthodox converts
Controversial plans to rewrite Israel's Law of Return that would see Jews converted by non-Orthodox rabbis barred from making aliyah have been condemned by UK progressive leaders.
Controversial plans to rewrite Israel’s Law of Return that would see Jews converted by non-Orthodox rabbis barred from making aliyah have been roundly condemned by UK progressive leaders for creating a “system of first and second class Jews”.
Another demand coming from the far-right Religious Zionism Party, which is poised for a key role in the new coalition government, would see the cancelation of the “grandchild clause” which allows grandchildren of Jews to immigrate to Israel.
Both proposals have been backed by far-right lawmaker and convicted racist Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of Jewish Power Party. “Only a Jew who converted in accordance with Jewish law (Halacha) would be eligible under the Law of Return,” he said.
Ben-Gvir’s demands came the same day that the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, warned Israel “is an Orthodox state, not a Reform one,” while accusing Reform Judaism of “causing assimilation abroad”. Yosef also said proposed legislation by the Religious Zionism Party and ultra-Orthodox partners that would curb the High Court of Justice’s power would be an “opportunity to amend the law on who is a Jew”.
These plans have been roundly condemned by progressive Jewish leaders across the UK. Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner of Bromley Reform Synagogue, who was also the inaugural Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism, called Ben-Gvir’s demands “just one corrosive, toxic and depleting element of a slew of foul policies that will undermine the very nature of Jewish Peoplehood. It is disturbing, disgusting and demeaning”.
Rabbi Deborah Blausten from the Finchley Reform Synagogue warned that the rhetoric and demands coming from the far-right and ultra-Orthodox were inflicting personal and emotional damage on Diaspora Jews. She said: “For Israel, at this moment, to turn around to Jews around the world and say ‘your Jewishness isn’t valid’ is like a kick in the teeth. It’s a horrible thing to be told.”
Blausten also pointed the finger at incoming Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “Netanyahu’s job is to think broader than Ben-Gvir’s base. If the Likud starts speaking this language, we will have a real problem. Netanyahu needs to remember that decisions like these won’t strengthen or build Israel. It would weaken Israel’s relationship with the Diaspora and the state of Israel.”
Matt Plen, chief executive of Masorti Judaism, echoed Blausten, calling on Netanyahu “to reject Ben Gvir’s poisonous demands which will cause a dangerous rupture with Diaspora communities, and to fulfil his duty to safeguard the unity of the Jewish people and the future of the State of Israel.”
Rabbi Lea Mühlstein from The Ark Synagogue London told Jewish News the proposals were “very disappointing, especially at this time when Israel is preparing itself for mass immigration from Russia and Ukraine. Many of those might not be able to come if the grandchild clause is nixed.”
She added: “It’s also a massive slap in the face to reform Judaism in the US and liberal Judaism in the UK. It basically tells Jews around the world that Israel isn’t the homeland for Jews, it’s the homeland for Israeli citizens.”
Mühlstein said that the proposals made by Religious Zionism as well as the statements made by Chief Rabbi Yosef have “taken most British Jews aback. I don’t think any of them had it on their radar that Israel would suddenly select who is Jewish enough to be part of a Jewish state. I don’t think this will be acceptable to Diaspora Jews”.
Mühlstein said she regularly writes letters supporting applications for aliyah, and that about half of the ones she has written in the past decade would’ve been affected by the two proposals to amend the Law of Return. “It will be another reason for Diaspora Jews to say ‘why should I feel part of Israel if it tells me I don’t belong there?.”
Rabbi Mühlstein, who is also International Chair of Arzenu and a board member of the Jewish agency for Israel, said there are already a “lot of conversations behind the scenes between the community organisations about which stance we should be taking,” to the demands coming from the Israeli far-right and ultra-orthodox parties. Rabbi Blausten warns that if their demands to change the Law of Return are met, there will be a “huge” collective response by the Jewish Diaspora.
“Reform Judaism is the largest Jewish denomination outside Israel, and it’s the largest one growing inside Israel. So the organised community won’t stand for this. It’s unacceptable,” she said.
Senior Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg of Masorti Judaism UK also reacted strongly, telling Jewish News: “This is deeply retrograde. It shows that bigotry has no borders. Those who are racist towards other peoples, bring division and strife within their own.”
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