Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday, 2 Adar I, ruled in favor of approving non-Orthodox conversions. The court ruled that a Reform or Conservative Jew wishing to convert with a beis din of one of those streams, may not be denied entry into any state-run mikve to toivel.
The petition to the court was filed by the Israel Religious Action Center, the advocacy arm of the Reform movement in Israel.
The case deals with a convert who wished to toivel in a Beersheva mikve that is run by the city’s religious council, a state-run mikve, while the non-Orthodox rabbonim would witness the tevila. The local religious council refused the request.
When the case was brought to a district court it was rejected, with the lower court explaining non-Orthodox conversions are “private” and therefore, the state mikve is not compelled to accommodate them. The Supreme Court however viewed the refusal of the religious council discriminatory, hereby granting the non-Orthodox converts legal state in state-run mikvaos. The court ruled the convert may bring the beis din of his/her choice, making it clear the rabbonim of the non-Orthodox streams may not be prevented from entering the mikvaos with the conversion candidate.
There is no doubt the next step will be the convert will go to the Interior Ministry and seek to be recognized as a Jew, which is not likely to occur. This will lead to the next petition to the High Court as the Reform and Conservative Movement continue to make significant headway into Israel’s religious and legal systems.
With Shas running both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Religious Services will be interesting to see how these ministers will address Supreme Court rulings.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
While it is true that the Supreme Court is taking Giyur in a terrible direction, bottom line, it is meaningless. In case, the so-called ‘ger’ wants to get married, any Rov will not be fooled. So, in reality, the Supreme Court approved a nice ceremony and it is “toivel v’shertetz b’yodo”
Be very scared! The deformers have a ton of money. Why are we being so apathetic. Plus, reformers love a good fight and would relish taking the State to the Supreme Court.
They start with the Kotel, and move onwards… wake up!
Then LET us ask THE STATE OF ISRAEL HOW ARE they
still A JEWISH STATE by any stretch??
If dwelling in a semi-”jewish milieu” is enough, as the Supreme Court fiat intendss in regard to one being officially jewish,
could every gentile working in a local religious institution,or say, living in Boro Park and speaks a few yiddish expressions also claim now to be a jew?!
Next will be j for j conversions
The “Supreme Court” decision is based on the stupid idea that the non-orthodox can gave a “Beis Din”, since that is how they describe themselves. What would the “court” decide if I described myself as n expert witness in a dispute about quantum mechanics? They’d want to see my qualifications. Would they check that a real university had awarded my degree? Clearly these judges have their own version of common sense.