As coalition negotiations continue, the Chareidi and Religious Zionist parties are demanding that Prime Minister-elect Binyamin Netanyahu amend the Law of Return.
The parties are demanding that the “grandchild clause,” which allows grandchildren of Jews, many of whom are non-Jewish, to immigrate to Israel and integrate into Israeli society, creating an intermarriage problem within the Jewish state.
The Center for Immigration Policy congratulated the religious parties for their demand to revoke the clause, saying: “It constitutes a major loophole for massive and legal non-Jewish immigration, and recently an attempt has been made to expand it. Closing the loophole has become a critical goal in recent years to stop the trend of shrinking the Jewish majority in Israel and to ensure the future of the State of Israel as a Jewish state”.
Reform Rabbi and Labor MK Gilad Kariv responded by stating that the “repeal of the grandchild clause in the Law of Return is a declaration of war on Diaspora Jewry and an attack on the foundations of Zionism. If Netanyahu crosses this red line, he will be written in the pages of the history of the Jewish people as the one who severed the connection between the State of Israel and world Jewry.”
A source in the Likud party told Channel 13 News that “this is a demand that can arouse anger among communities in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the United States.”
Yahadus HaTorah is also demanding the legislation of the override clause, a new recruitment law and a giyur law that will cede sole authority for giyur to the Rabbanut.
Various media outlets reported that UTJ will also demand the inclusion of yeshivah budgets in the government’s budget, an increase in the budget for Chareidi school and teachers, housing solutions, the revocation of all reforms passed by the previous government, including Kahana’s kashrus reforms, Lieberman’s cancellation of daycare subsidies for kollel families and the taxes on disposables and sweetened drinks, revoking the kosher phone reforms, increasing enforcement of illegal Arab construction in Area C, and others.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
ברוך ‘ה
Yes change it. My x husband a Jew a levy has a Christian wife and many China x grandchildren. All gentile. Yes. Protect us
Diaspora Jewry?
What diaspora Jewry?
ושאינו משמר שבתו בשוק הרי הוא כגוי לכל דבר. (מדרש הגדול שמות (פרשת כי תשא) פרק לא פסוק יז)
A large percentage of “Jews” outside of Israel perceive themselves as Jews even though they are not, and without these “persons of Jewish descent”, Israel would be much weaker since if Israel declare they are not Jews, they will earn the hatred of these persons, resulting in loss of financial and political support from the diaspora.
Consider the impact if every “liberal” (Democratic) support of Israel were to suddenly support the anti-Israel “woke” position. Israel would be much worse off with a United States that is neutral on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and refused to sell weapons to Israel, and might restrict private transfers of funds as well. What happens if the non-frum “Jewish” charities adopt policies of not supporting anything pro-Israel (or that serves Orthodox Jews).
EDGARHOOVER – my thoughts exactly. Many of these reform “jews” are no longer Jewish even without the issue of keeping Mitzvos, as their leadership accepted patriarchal ancestry to be valid (meaning if the father is Jewish they consider the children Jewish) – so you have רח”ל thousands of Goyim, who actually think they’re Jewish because their pastor told them so.
And PLEASE, stop using the term “Reform Rabbi” – it’s an oxymoron and has no place in a Frum outlet. If you’re a reformist, you can’t be a Rabbi – any “ordination you get is not worth the paper it’s printed on. Call them pastors, guides, – hey, call them fuhrers for all I care (they’re killing Jewish נשמות, so why not). But DON’T CALL THEM RABBIS!