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Observando el Mundo Judaico. de Arieh Ben Abraham Capella - Thursday, 6 de September de 2007, 02:40

Shalom a los javerim: primera noticia: he Interior Ministry has prepared a preliminary draft of citizenship criteria that would disqualify some converts to Judaism - Orthodox, Conservative and Reform - from automatically qualifying under the Law of Return. A class for converts in the process of becoming Jewish. Photo: Hilary Leila Krieger The draft was distributed on Monday night to collect feedback from organizations such as the Jewish Agency, the Reform Movement and the Human Rights Association, which work with converts. The document was obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. According to the proposed rules, the ministry would not automatically grant citizenship to converts whose conversions took place abroad, whether in Orthodox, Conservative or Reform ceremonies. Rather, the convert would be asked to fulfill requirements that include: a minimum of nine months in a preparatory course in Judaism; proof of participation in the activities of a Jewish community abroad for at least nine months after conversion; and residing in the Jewish community that performs the conversion for at least three months prior to conversion. (el converso debera cumplir requerimientos en los que se incluye: un MINIMO de NUEVE MESES en un curso de conversion al judaismo; probar la Participacion en las actividades de la Comunidad Judia al menos por los NUEVE MESES anteriores a la conversion, y VIVIR EN UNA COMUNIDAD JUDIA para realizar la conversion por lo menos TRES MESES antes de la misma) In addition, converts who converted abroad and apply for Israeli citizenship would face rejection for a number of reasons: The convert applied previously, before conversion, for Israeli citizenship and was rejected; the convert stayed in Israel illegally for a period of at least six months; the convert has relatives in Israel [who he or she wishes to join]; and the convert applied for citizenship immediately after converting and family members, who did not convert, want to come too. "The purpose of these criteria," write the Interior Ministry legal advisers who authored the draft, "is to prevent exploitation of the conversion process to obtain Israeli citizenship. The person requesting citizenship must prove an honest, serious intention to join the Jewish people and to accept the Jewish religion. He or she must prove the conversion is not just for the purpose of receiving citizenship." Orthodox Rabbi Shaul Farber, head of ITIM, an organization that helps people navigate Israel's religious affairs bureaucracy, said that the draft proposal went against the basic tenets of Jewish tradition. "Judaism has always demanded special sensitivity to the vulnerabilities of converts," said Farber. "These draconian measures written in the draft seems to point to xenophobia and intransigence among Interior Ministry officials." Rabbi Gilad Kariv, a senior member of Israel Religious Action Center, the Reform Movement's legal arm, said there were two main problems with the draft. "First, the Interior Ministry has no right to be involved in determining the length of time it is necessary to prepare for a conversion. There is nothing in the law, neither Jewish nor civil, stating a minimum period of time. "Second, it is unfair to disqualify a convert from citizenship simply because a previous request for citizenship was rejected or because he or she has relatives in Israel. "But we are still looking over the suggestions. And we also understand the Interior Ministry's interest in protecting Israel's borders from unwanted immigration." Israeli citizenship, unlike the citizenship of other Western countries, is intimately linked with religion. Under the Law of Return, only those who are Jews according to Orthodox criteria, or those who are related to a Jew (spouse, child, grandchild) are eligible for citizenship. In addition, individuals who have converted to Judaism outside Israel - whether Orthodox, Conservative or Reform - are also eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. As a result of this link between religion and citizenship, ostensibly secular institutions such as the Interior Ministry end up interfering in issues that are inherently religious, such as conversion. However, the ministry's jurisdiction in religious matters has been limited by the Supreme Court. On March 31, 2005, the High Court of Justice struck down a ministry regulation according to which foreign converts had to live in the community where they converted for at least a year before making aliya. This ruling was based on the reasoning that the ministry had no right to set criteria defining a religious act such as conversion. Nevertheless, the Interior Ministry's legal department once again seems to be trying to determine what constitutes a legitimate, authentic conversion. In fact, Israel's official authority on conversions - Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar - was not even consulted before the criteria were drafted, according to Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz, an aide to Amar who is the senior authority on recognizing conversions for the purpose of marriage. For more than two years, since the High Court ruling, the Interior Ministry has been trying to put together citizenship criteria for converts. Without clear rules, dozens of converts have been forced to wait for many months to immigrate. Those who arrive in Israel remain without rights and benefits. Every year about three dozen converts who converted abroad request to make aliya, according to Jewish Agency sources who spoke with the Post last year. In the past, the Post has reported that the Interior Ministry continued to demand that people who converted abroad and ask to make aliya live in the community where they converted for at least a year before making aliya, in total disregard of the High Court decision. Segunda Noticia: September 03, 2007 Toddler Rejected By Haredi School Because He Is 1/4 Sefardic As you read this article from Ynet, keep the following in mind: The school rejecting the toddler because he has Sefardic blood is haredi. There is a long history of haredi schools in general, not just this one haredi school in particular, banning students of Sefardic or partially-Sefardic descent. (This is not true of Chabad schools.) The child's mother, who is 1/2 Sefardic, pleaded with the school to let her 4 1/2 year old child in. She did so by assuring the school that the child is Ashkenazi in every way except for 1/4 of his blood, and that the child is Yiddish-speaking. The rejection of the child is purely based on ethnicity. Even though some in the haredi leadership (like Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv) are said to be opposed to this type of bigotry, the bigotry is itself still common in haredi society, even in the second tier of haredi leadership, largely because haredi leaders have not attached any penalties for being and anti-Sefardic bigot or for supporting anti-Sefardic bigotry. You can wear a white sheet and hood and still be in the good graces of haredi leadership. Israel does not enforce its anti-discrimination laws. Nothing will change until either haredi leadership penalizes haredi anti-Sefardic bigots or Israel Israel makes a concerted effort to enforce the law. Because neither is likely to happen soon, haredi anti-Sefardic bigotry will continue unabated. Ynet reports: Anyone who thinks that racist rules are a thing of the past is wrong, according to the mother of a four-and-a-half year old child who was rejected from a Talmud Torah school because of his grandfather's ethnicity. "They are alive and kicking in all their ugliness in Ashkenazi haredi educational institutions," the mother said. The child was denied admission to a Talmlud Torah school in Beit Shemesh because of what its principal called a "stain" in his genealogy. "Tell the child's dear father that although he himself is completely Ashkenazi, his wife's father is Sephardic, and we therefore cannot accept his son into our institution. We have to maintain a certain standard," the principal said.… "I begged the principal. I explained that my child is truly Ashkenazi and looks exactly like his father. Our son also speaks Yiddish, but nothing helped," the mother said. "They explained to a friend of ours that they didn't want to ruin their Talmud Torah with 'damaged goods'." The Talmud Torah school had previously given the same explanation to several other frustrated parents who petitioned MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) for help. The Knesset member tried several times to convince the principal to allow the rejected children admission to the school, but the principal insisted there was "no room" in the institution. "This is a complicated problem. I don't deal with condemning these things, just like I don't condemn kibbutzim, which sometimes select who to accept as a member. There are communities that wish to be strict about their religion or social character. It's not simple," Porush said. The school's principal, who had previously said he only wanted "100% Ashkenazim" at his institution, told Yedioth Ahronoth he had no idea how many, if any, Sephardic children were enrolled in the school.… Lo unico que queda para decir es que es mejor hacer Tefillot. shalom Arieh. Responder Ver el mensaje en su contexto

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