- Sections
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayeshev
96
One of the "time bombs" that lie within Israeli society is the problem of those who moved to Israel based on the Law of Return and received full Israeli citizenship but are not halachically Jewish. At least the second generation of these people consist of fluent Hebrew speakers, and they study in standard Israeli schools (including religious ones) and serve in the Israel Defense Forces – in other words, they are fully integrated into Israeli "Jewish" society.
They encounter a problem when they want to marry according to Israeli law, as the State does not have a solution for them at this crucial moment in their lives. Marriage is a religious act here, and these people are not included in any religion. Estimates of the number of such Israelis vary from 300,000 to 500,000 (including the third generation).
Those who have difficulty in being recognized as Jews can be categorized into three groups: 1. Jews who cannot prove that they are Jews, usually because the Holocaust and/or the wicked Soviet regime erased their ability to prove their Jewish status, whether by means of documentation or by means of behavior. 2. Those who come from Jewish men, who, under the difficult situations that existed, married non-Jewish women. They require full conversion. 3. Distant relatives of Jews, who were granted aliya rights due to the Law of Return.
In the coming weeks, we will look into how to deal most properly with each of these groups. We will start with the first. Determining one’s status as a Jew is a broad topic, and there are different ways to try to go about it. The State of Israel should spend the resources necessary (which are significant) to do so properly to allow these brothers to feel as full and accepted parts of their national heritage. This is a great mitzva, which does not require any religious procedure.
Of course, it suffices for their matrilineal line to be Jewish. We are involved in halachic and scientific research into a genetic test that can help in giving support for the claim of being born Jewish, to up to 40% of the Jewish population of this group. When we have completed our efforts, we will share it with halachic and scientific leaders throughout the world to promote this avenue of assistance to an important segment in our society.

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