|
March
31, 2005
Statement of
the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
Regarding the Ruling of Israel’s Supreme Court on
Non-Halachic Conversions
The
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America deeply concerned
by the ruling today of the Israeli Supreme Court, which allows
persons converted in Reform and Conservative ceremonies aboard to
be granted Jewish status under Israel’s Law of Return.
Union President Stephen Savitsky and Executive Vice President
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb issued the following statement:
We support the Israeli Chief
Rabbinate in condemning this decision of Israel’s Supreme Court,
which ignores the historical realities of the State of Israel.
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, at the time of the establishment
of the State of Israel, recognized the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and
its designees to be the sole decisors in matters of Jewish
identity.
We are concerned that in issuing
its decision, the Supreme Court has transcended its jurisdiction
and has trespassed into the domain of the religious authority of
the Chief Rabbinate.
The decision of the Court may
eventually lead to the division of the People of Israel into two
camps. There will be a group of halachically valid Jews and a
group of people who are Jewish only by the ruling of the Supreme
Court. The consequences of this ruling will be tragic.
|
