Gentile immigrants to Israel are less likely to be motivated to convert to Judaism, says Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, due to the difficulties in the process caused by government bureaucracy.
Lieberman made the statement Tuesday at an Immigration and Absorption conference held in Ashdod. The Russian immigrant Yisrael Beitenu (Israel Our Home) party chairman said the red tape involved in conversions in Israel has led to “Judaism no longer being attractive,” saying most Gentile immigrants to the Jewish state do not want to convert.
A large number of immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) enter the country through the Law of Return, which allows anyone who can claim at least one Jewish grandparent of either gender, on either side of the family, to immigrate with full benefits. Judaism is passed through matrilineal lineage, according to Jewish law, which defines a Jew as one who is born to a Jewish mother, who is born to a Jewish mother.