The Minister of the Interior, Avraham Poraz of the Shinui (Change) party, has managed to anger many disparate groups in a relatively short time. He began his term in office by declaring that he would not enforce certain laws, duly passed by the legislature, as they are based in traditional Judaic law. Most recently, Poraz caused an uproar by his advocating regulations that would use ?contribution to the State? as the definitive test for receiving Israeli citizenship.
Pursuant to this philosophy, new ministerial regulations entitle all one-year army veterans to Israeli citizenship. Minister Poraz also proposed granting either citizenship or permanent-residency status to the children of foreign workers who reach the age of 18 and plan to serve in the army. In addition, according to media reports, the minister would also grant Israeli citizenship to anyone making a $1 million contribution to state coffers.
Minister Poraz further announced on May 20, 2003, that he would not grant automatic citizenship to those who converted to Judaism while in Israel. His announcement would seem to directly contradict the foundational Law of Return, which grants Israeli citizenship to any Jew - convert or otherwise - and to certain of his non-Jewish relatives.
In addition, Poraz has angered the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel by his recent decision to block the immigration and naturalization of up to 20,000 Jews still in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the Gondar province. Many of those awaiting immigration to Israel, according to activists in the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel, are suffering from severe economic conditions and hunger. Many of the potential immigrants, who are living Jewish lives in every way, have not seen their families in Israel for years.
For Avraham Poraz, however, all that is not enough. Nor is voluntary conversion to Judaism in Israel enough. But offering Poraz - pardon, his ministry - a million dollars, now that?s enough.
Racism? Hatred? Prejudice? What motivates the Minister of the Interior to ignore, alter and emasculate laws duly ratified by the Israeli parliament, laws that he is sworn to uphold?
On May 4, 2003, Poraz said that non-Jewish soldiers serving in the army ?are several times better than Jews who do not serve in the IDF and who contribute nothing to the country.? Knesset member Sha'ul Yahalom (National Religious Party) explained to Arutz-7 Radio the problem with Interior Ministry?s new approach: ?He [Poraz] is saying that to those who convert to Judaism, he will not grant citizenship, but to those who contribute in some way to the State, he will grant [citizenship]. This means that the criterion of 'conversion to Judaism' is less important to him than other criteria, such as if [the potential citizen] is a conductor in an Israeli symphony or has served in the army. We say that Judaism is the main connection to the State of Israel, and he's saying it's not important...?
Yahalom seems to have hit on it. For most Israelis, religious or not, Jewish traditions form a central part of their view of what the Jewish state is about. Most Israelis also see army service and other forms of contributing to society as an important part of what being an Israeli means. On the other hand, Israelis also loathe being told what to do, particularly when it comes to Jewish tradition. And so, many have adopted a stance that opposes all laws that appear to stem from that tradition. One may have thought, until the recent Interior Ministry decisions, that Shinui merely reflected the latter point of view. Now we know, however, that for Shinui, the fact that the state of Israel is defined as a Jewish state has no more than a superficial meaning - epitomized in the flag with its six-pointed ?Jewish? star, or in the use of Hebrew. Yet, for the traditional Zionist, these symbols are an outer manifestation of an inner truth, not merely nostalgic window dressing.
Shinui has turned Zionism - which the party claims to represent - on its head. The Zionist ideal was that all Jews, by definition, are to be treated as returning citizens of the reconstituted Jewish state. The question of who is a Jew for citizenship purposes was resolved by the Knesset as incorporating, but not exclusively reflecting, the traditional Torah-based definition. The law grants citizenship to those born to a Jewish mother and to those converted to Judaism, but it also grants automatic citizenship to the children and grandchildren, Jewish or not, of a Jew (as defined in the law). Furthermore, the conversion clause does not exclude those converted overseas under non-Orthodox auspices, even though in Israel (to the dismay of Reform and Conservative Jews) conversions are recognized only when performed according to Orthodox tradition.
The side dispute over non-Orthodox conversions, however, did not stop the Movement for Progressive Judaism (the Israeli Reform movement) from calling Minister Poraz's opposition to citizenship for converts ?appalling? and ?illegal?. ?If Israel is a Jewish democratic state,? a representative of the Reform movement told the Jerusalem Post, ?then a Jew, whether he be a convert or a Jew from birth, has the right to be here. It is very problematic to state that Judaism is irrelevant in a Jewish state.?
Currently, according to Dr. Asher Cohen of Bar-Ilan University, 72% of the residents of the State of Israel are Jews and the number of non-Jewish new immigrants has reached the 300,000 mark. Furthermore, fifty-one percent of new immigrant soldiers enlisting in the IDF are non-Jews, according to Brigadier-General Elazar Stern, the army's chief educational officer. Cohen and Stern made these observations during their remarks at a May conference in Jerusalem dealing with conversions.
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz boycotted the conference.
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Nissan Ratzlav-Katz is opinion editor at Israel National News.com, and frequently writes for National Review Online. His commentaries have been published internationally and translated into several languages. He can be reached through his homepage, www.nrk-online.com.
Pursuant to this philosophy, new ministerial regulations entitle all one-year army veterans to Israeli citizenship. Minister Poraz also proposed granting either citizenship or permanent-residency status to the children of foreign workers who reach the age of 18 and plan to serve in the army. In addition, according to media reports, the minister would also grant Israeli citizenship to anyone making a $1 million contribution to state coffers.
Minister Poraz further announced on May 20, 2003, that he would not grant automatic citizenship to those who converted to Judaism while in Israel. His announcement would seem to directly contradict the foundational Law of Return, which grants Israeli citizenship to any Jew - convert or otherwise - and to certain of his non-Jewish relatives.
In addition, Poraz has angered the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel by his recent decision to block the immigration and naturalization of up to 20,000 Jews still in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the Gondar province. Many of those awaiting immigration to Israel, according to activists in the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel, are suffering from severe economic conditions and hunger. Many of the potential immigrants, who are living Jewish lives in every way, have not seen their families in Israel for years.
For Avraham Poraz, however, all that is not enough. Nor is voluntary conversion to Judaism in Israel enough. But offering Poraz - pardon, his ministry - a million dollars, now that?s enough.
Racism? Hatred? Prejudice? What motivates the Minister of the Interior to ignore, alter and emasculate laws duly ratified by the Israeli parliament, laws that he is sworn to uphold?
On May 4, 2003, Poraz said that non-Jewish soldiers serving in the army ?are several times better than Jews who do not serve in the IDF and who contribute nothing to the country.? Knesset member Sha'ul Yahalom (National Religious Party) explained to Arutz-7 Radio the problem with Interior Ministry?s new approach: ?He [Poraz] is saying that to those who convert to Judaism, he will not grant citizenship, but to those who contribute in some way to the State, he will grant [citizenship]. This means that the criterion of 'conversion to Judaism' is less important to him than other criteria, such as if [the potential citizen] is a conductor in an Israeli symphony or has served in the army. We say that Judaism is the main connection to the State of Israel, and he's saying it's not important...?
Yahalom seems to have hit on it. For most Israelis, religious or not, Jewish traditions form a central part of their view of what the Jewish state is about. Most Israelis also see army service and other forms of contributing to society as an important part of what being an Israeli means. On the other hand, Israelis also loathe being told what to do, particularly when it comes to Jewish tradition. And so, many have adopted a stance that opposes all laws that appear to stem from that tradition. One may have thought, until the recent Interior Ministry decisions, that Shinui merely reflected the latter point of view. Now we know, however, that for Shinui, the fact that the state of Israel is defined as a Jewish state has no more than a superficial meaning - epitomized in the flag with its six-pointed ?Jewish? star, or in the use of Hebrew. Yet, for the traditional Zionist, these symbols are an outer manifestation of an inner truth, not merely nostalgic window dressing.
Shinui has turned Zionism - which the party claims to represent - on its head. The Zionist ideal was that all Jews, by definition, are to be treated as returning citizens of the reconstituted Jewish state. The question of who is a Jew for citizenship purposes was resolved by the Knesset as incorporating, but not exclusively reflecting, the traditional Torah-based definition. The law grants citizenship to those born to a Jewish mother and to those converted to Judaism, but it also grants automatic citizenship to the children and grandchildren, Jewish or not, of a Jew (as defined in the law). Furthermore, the conversion clause does not exclude those converted overseas under non-Orthodox auspices, even though in Israel (to the dismay of Reform and Conservative Jews) conversions are recognized only when performed according to Orthodox tradition.
The side dispute over non-Orthodox conversions, however, did not stop the Movement for Progressive Judaism (the Israeli Reform movement) from calling Minister Poraz's opposition to citizenship for converts ?appalling? and ?illegal?. ?If Israel is a Jewish democratic state,? a representative of the Reform movement told the Jerusalem Post, ?then a Jew, whether he be a convert or a Jew from birth, has the right to be here. It is very problematic to state that Judaism is irrelevant in a Jewish state.?
Currently, according to Dr. Asher Cohen of Bar-Ilan University, 72% of the residents of the State of Israel are Jews and the number of non-Jewish new immigrants has reached the 300,000 mark. Furthermore, fifty-one percent of new immigrant soldiers enlisting in the IDF are non-Jews, according to Brigadier-General Elazar Stern, the army's chief educational officer. Cohen and Stern made these observations during their remarks at a May conference in Jerusalem dealing with conversions.
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz boycotted the conference.
--------------------------------------------------------
Nissan Ratzlav-Katz is opinion editor at Israel National News.com, and frequently writes for National Review Online. His commentaries have been published internationally and translated into several languages. He can be reached through his homepage, www.nrk-online.com.