MK Moshe Feiglin stated in his opinion, the modified version of the Giyur Bill approved by the cabinet on Sunday 9 Marcheshvan is in line with halacha. He praised the cabinet decision to pass the bill, calling the latter a “good bill”.
By passing the bill at the cabinet level, it becomes a government decision and thereby bypasses the scheduled Knesset vote on Monday 10 Marcheshvan of another version of the bill. The version on the Knesset calendar was reportedly far less in compliance to halacha. The version passed was formulated with the guidance of Rabbi Chaim Druckman.
He added that he feels the pain of chareidim, explaining that he also is pained by the blow to Yiddishkheit and the Jewish home as a result of the legislation of the Yesh Atid party and its leader Finance Minister Yair Lapid. He added that he discussed the amended giyur bill with chareidim and he was told by them that the bill was indeed okay, quoting them as saying “but we will vote against it nevertheless”.
Feiglin added that it does appear that Yair Lapid is harassing the chareidim, citing the effort to draft bnei yeshivos as an example. “His actions are clearly not motivated by his love for chareidim” Feiglin added. The deputy speaker points out however “they did not really harm limud Torah while tens of thousands of chareidim can now get out and work. Bottom line things are better…”
Regarding the giyur bill that was passed, Feiglin explains that the law conforms to halacha, even in the strictest sense. “The new reality solves the issue of converting the children of immigrants who are not Jewish and solves the conversion issue even in non-chareidi tracks [and this is the root of the resistance]”.
Feiglin then quotes Rabbi Chaim Amsellem, with the latter stating “one who is stringent in giyur is thereby lenient towards assimilation”, backing the rabbi’s words. He explains “A child who does not convert is not moving to another country but remaining here and marrying here”, and that is among the reasons he feels the decision by the cabinet is a step in a necessary direction.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
“one who is stringent in giyur is thereby lenient towards assimilation”
But the proclaimed premise of the zionist enterprise is just by dwelling in israel itself will avoid assimilion!?
assimilation
Based on my connection with Feiglin and one of his prime Lt.’s,take it from myself:
Feiglin,while albeit surely well meaning, has little solid knowledge of Judaism.
He takes his religious cues by looking over his shoulder at what he assumes the charedim mean,without grasping the nuances
This is from someone presently living in Russia:(11/3/13)
How many of those 50,000 observe Torah and mitzvos? Those I know who took the tests and passed do not keep anything. It was just “wish me luck on the test!” and then nothing. Being m’ga’er the Russian immigrants who believe in another religion just makes a Fifth Column within Judaism,!
Rav Dovid Lau: Stop Allowing Non-Jews To Make Aliyah
Almost nine million people from around the world are eligible for Israeli citizenship through the Law of Return, despite the fact they are not Jewish according to religious law, prompting the chief rabbi to demand the state’s law be mended.
There are roughly 14 million Jews around the world, but over 23 million people eligible for citizenship, a new study claimed as the government authorized a massive overhaul for the conversion process.
In wake of the study, Israel’s Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Lau told Ynet that “we must change the Law of Return immediately so it will include only those who are Jewish according to the halacha. Israel can decide to be the third world’s welfare state, but as long as that decision has not been taken – it needs to stop allowing non-Jews to make aliyah.”
Rav Lau gives as an example which he says he is personally acquainted with: “Because of one Jewish grandfather who is buried in Moscow, over 73 people (his children and grandchildren) moved to Israel through the Law of Return.” According to the rabbi, the biggest threat this poses is inter-faith marriages.
According to the study by Prof. Sergio DellaPergola from the Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University, as of the beginning of 2014, the number of Jews (people born to Jewish mothers) stands at 14,212,800 (a 0.66 percent increase in comparison to 2013). If you take into account those born to Jewish fathers, but non-Jewish mothers, the number rises to 17,236,850.
The number jumps to 22,921,500 when you take into account people who can trace Jewish ancestry three generations back – the maximum allowed by the Law of Return. The definition is similar to the one laid out by the Nazi’s Nuremberg Laws, and is thus understood to be Israel’s response to the threat posed to Jews by anti-Semitism based on racial – as opposed to religious – criteria.
The data will be presented in a conference in Jerusalem’s prestigious Van Leer Institute on Monday as part of an event called Converts, Returnees, and Adherents: New Ways of Joining the Jewish People.
The government passed on Sunday a highly controversial bill overhauling the way conversions to Judaism are handled in Israel, despite objections from Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
The legislation aims to expand Orthodox conversions in Israel, permitting municipal rabbis to oversee the process which until today was held by a few select facilities, causing massive red tape and what many describe as an exhausting process which prevented many from completing their conversion. The bill passed almost unanimously.
The bill’s sponsor, MK Elazar Stern, from the centrists Hatnua party and himself a religious Jew, made it his mission since entering the Knesset to lead a reform in conversions, and even vowed to quit the coalition should the bill fall. According to him, the current process alienates scores of Israelis from Judaism
To be a proper Jew a person must dedicate their life to living according to the precepts of the Five Books of Moses and teaching them to others as well. Those that have properly lineage to the Patriarchs they should be encouraged to do so.
If the lineage is defective or non existent and they never had any intention to keep the Torah, they can in no way be considered as Jews. Immersion in a mikvah will not change this situation and certainly not Israeli military service.