The High Court of Justice on Sunday (June 27th) is hearing the case of a woman originally from the Czech Republic who converted in the Bnei Brak Beis Din of HaGaon HaRav Nissim Karelitz Shlita.
The woman applied for citizenship, presenting her giyur certificate from the beis din to the Ministry of the Interior, but she was turned down – told that since she is not a chareidi woman, but maintaining a “dati light” lifestyle, the ministry will not grant her a change of status.
Without the ministry’s recognition, she cannot obtain citizenship and when her visa expires, she will face deportation.
The petition to the High Court was filed by Dr. Theodor Schwartzberg, a prominent attorney with a wealth of experience in such cases, dealing with immigration, human rights and related cases. Schwartzberg has targeted five government agencies in his petition, four immigration related offices and the Prime Minister’s Office.
The attorney explains that a state official knocked on his client’s door and then photographed her dressed immodestly, using this as their strong case against her. He further states that she is not seeking to take advantage of the state to obtain citizenship, coming from an extremely wealthy home, and does not seek benefits, but to simply live in Israel as an Orthodox Jew.
The state fears recognizing a giyur candidate from the Rav’s beis din, fearing it will set a precedent and others will go to a private beis din and demand citizenship, those who simply wish to take advantage of Israeli citizenship.
The official statement released by the ministry is somewhat puzzling since the Rav’s beis din obviously only performs giyur on persons who have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt their willingness to accept a life of Torah observance in line with halacha. The ministry states “The applicant tricked the beis din, which converted her with the understanding she would be living outside or Israel. And since she is ‘dati light’ and her observance is only traditional, her conversion is not in line with an Orthodox lifestyle and we are therefore not recognizing her conversion”.
Schwartzberg questions the statement, explaining he is unaware of a giyur that is only applicable out of Israel and on requires a minimum standard of adherence to mitzvos.
In many cases, persons undergoing giyur by Rav Karelitz’s beis din are aware the state does not recognize the process. Ironically, since the Rav’s beis din is not part of the controversial state-approved conversions, one cannot use the certificate to obtain citizenship. Many persons who pass through giyur via the Rav opt to live abroad, and are of course accepted by all who see the certificate of Rav Karelitz, but they cannot obtain Israeli citizenship based on it since it is not recognized by the Interior Ministry.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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5 Responses
Irony is G-d’s gift to the world.
Israel is, has always been, and will continue to be a zionist state, not a Torah state. The Jews who believe otherwise are blind, naive, stupid, and probably all three. Its their country,not our’s.
If Israel is to survive as a zionist state, then “giyur” is the process of becoming an Israeli, and “Jewish” is something else and is something irrelevant to being an Israeli. All halacha must be determined by the state, whether it be a definition of who is a Jew, or how yeshivos are run (such as whether they can different tracks based on family observances or level of yiddishkeit). Daas Torah that is other than supervised by the government is irrelvant at best, and treasonous at worst.
If you don’t want a zionist state, you are too late. The decision was made over 60 years ago, and really over 100 years ago (when the frum community probably could have convinced the Ottomans to deport the hilonim when they first arrived).
#2: you are so wrong. The chareidim are in line to take over all that is jewish. The chilonim have maybe one or two children. That is for those that are not mushchasim. The mushchasim have none. The chareidim have an average of 6-8 children. It is only a matter of time before the chareidim become the majority. You are also forgetting that a lot of chilonim are also leaving the country.
So now Rav Karlitz beis din is a no, no, also. We got to work out this problem once and for all.
#2 Sovereignty is not an easy pill to swallow.
Not sure that the Charedim are willing or ready to sit in the conductor’s seat, therefore complaints and finger pointing accomplishes little.