Conversion Issue

• There is currently no Israeli law that determines “who is a convert” in Israel. The only law dealing with the recognition of conversions since the creation of the State of Israel is the Law of Return.

• The Supreme Court has held through a series of legal cases in the past 30 years that non-Orthodox and private moderate Orthodox conversions performed in Israel and around the world must be recognized for the purpose of the Law of Return and registration as a Jew in the Israel Population Registry.

• This recognition of non-Orthodox conversions is critical for new (and old) immigrants and Jews of choice around the world who want to call Israel their home. It is also critical for:

  1.    People fleeing Russia and Ukraine –both those who managed to convert in their own communities before they left and those who are arriving in Israel as children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who want to be part of the Jewish world and are not leading ultra-Orthodox lives.

  2.    Same-sex couples wanting to convert their children who are unable to convert them in any other framework.

• Throughout the years the Ultra-Orthodox parties have tried to pass laws, limiting the recognition of conversions to those performed through the Ultra-Orthodox government conversion program. Such attempts have never succeeded, thanks to the voiced outrage of the Jewish world. Since the latest Supreme Court ruling in 2021, they are even more intent on passing such a law.

• Passing such a law would create an unparalleled chasm between Israel and the Jewish World and would end the dream of Israel as the home for all Jews.

• It is imperative that the Prime Minister is aware that any change in the current status quo on conversion will have dire consequences vis a vis the Jewish World’s continued support of Israel.

Grandchild clause in the Law of Return

• The Ultra-Orthodox parties demand to abolish the right of grandchildren of a Jew to be entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return. In Israel, hundreds of thousands of people have become citizens under the grandchildren clause. Although not halachically Jewish, they self-identify as Jews, and many Israelis also see them as such. Many of them choose to convert to Judaism within the non-Orthodox streams as mentioned above.

• Abolishing the grandchildren clause will have dire consequences for the relationship between Israel and world Jewry. It is expected to affect 3 million people, 2 million from North America, and most of the immigrants from Russia and Ukraine.

• In particular, it will hurt the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and the liberal Jewish world in general, where in many cases Jewish identity stems as strongly from the father as it does from the mother. Thus, a child born to a Jewish father will be just as likely to pass on a Jewish identity to his/her child as will a child born to a Jewish mother. If the grandchild clause is removed, large numbers of people actively self-identifying as Jewish will be alienated from Israel.

• Many of the youth coming to Israel on Jewish Agency programs are the grandchildren of Jews. After their involvement in the programs, their Jewish identity is strengthened, and they choose to make Aliyah or support Israel from their communities abroad. Israel has a fundamental interest in fostering these programs rather than weakening them.