The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected an appeal by the Population and Immigration Authority and ruled that it must recognize the private Orthodox rabbinical court "Ahavat Hager," led by Rabbi Haim Amsalem, for the purpose of obtaining immigrant status through the Law of Return.
The ruling was passed down by Supreme Court President Justice Isaac Amit and Justices Yael Willner and Khaled Kabub.
The appeal follows a petition submitted by Rosanie Michal Reyes, a Filipino citizen who worked in Israel as a caretaker and converted through the Ahavat Hager court in 2018.
The judge ruled that the court is a serious Orthodox court with a status that is careful to test the sincerity of the conversion candidate and their conversion process.
The court also ruled that there was no justification for differentiating between the Ahavat Hager court and the Giyur K'Halacha court, founded by the ITIM organization and recognized for the Law of Return. Rabbi Amsalem, who leads the Ahavat Hager court, also serves as a chief judge in the Giur K'Halacha network.
At the conclusion of the ruling, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit addressed the importance of accepting converts, particularly at the present time, citing sources from Jewish tradition concerning the treatment of those seeking to join the Jewish people.
Amit quoted the Talmud, whose teaching is also cited by Maimonides, according to which prospective converts should be informed of the difficulties involved in joining the Jewish people, but should not face unnecessary obstacles if they remain determined to convert. "What prompted you to come and convert? Do you not know that the Jewish people at this time are afflicted, oppressed, persecuted, and beset by suffering? If he says, 'I know, and I am unworthy,' he is accepted immediately."
Justices Yael Wilner and Khaled Kabub joined President Amit's ruling. Rabbi Dr. Seth Farber, chairman and founder of the ITIM organization and the Giyur K'Halacha network of conversion courts, welcomed the ruling and sharply criticized the state's conversion policies. "Conversion is not a wall that needs to be fortified, but a gateway that must be opened with seriousness, adherence to Jewish law, and love," he said.
According to Farber, the fact that the Supreme Court had to rely on Jewish legal sources to emphasize the importance of accepting converts reflects a failure in the state's approach. "When the Supreme Court has to quote Maimonides to remind the Jewish state that 'he is accepted immediately,' it is a disgrace for the state," he said.
Rabbi Farber noted that despite the years that have passed since the Regachova ruling, no conversion law has been enacted to regulate the field, and the state conversion authority has been operating under an acting director for more than three years. "Ten years after the Regachova ruling, there is still no conversion law, the state conversion authority has been headed by an acting director for more than three years, and the state continues to waste resources fighting against first-rate Orthodox rabbinical courts," he charged.
In conclusion, Farber made clear that his organization would continue its work in the field of conversion as long as the state, in his view, fails to provide an adequate response. "As long as the state fails to do its job, ITIM and Giyur K'Halacha will fill the vacuum. It is time for the government to stop fighting converts and start fulfilling the Torah's commandment: 'You shall love the stranger.'"