THE LORD JAKOBOVlTS STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE The Conference of European Rabbis comprises virtually all leading Rabbis throughout Europe (including Italy), and is recognized worldwide as one of the leading rabbinical organizations. We have previously stated in connection with the Dulberg children's case our complete rejection of the argument that the mother's claim is dismissed because it is alleged that she belongs to "a religious cult", i.e.. Orthodox Judaism. '"This assertion is libellous and utterly untenable, and will be acknowledged as such by religious authorities throughout the world. We assert that in Jewish law children assume the faith of their mother, and must be raised accordingly. Therefore the facilities must be such as will ensure this, including environment, adequate schooling and the like, which are utterly indispensable for the children to be raised in their mother's faith. The injustice of placing these children into an impossible situation including the restricted manner in which they are allowed to communicate with their mother is a total denial of their human rights as well as of their Jewish tradition. Therefore we demand that the matter be urgently reviewed, giving their mother at least equal access and allowing the children to maintain their religious education, as hitherto, in Israel without disrupting their stability and spiritual welfare. Letters from the children clearly indicate that they themselves clamour for the right to be allowed u) rejoin their mother m Israel and to be raised in complete loyalty to their ancestral faith. We would wish to avoid raising this into a public issue and therefore hope that the authorities concerned will at last acknowledge the justice of the claim and not force us to take this further, raising the issues of the denial of human rights.
Lord Immanuel Jakobovits --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information, please contact Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International Affairs & Communal Relations, Orthodox Union, at 212-613-8124 and stay tuned to http://www.ou.org
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