Tweet
Time to clarify
First, who is a Jew according to the traditional definition still used today
There are two ways to be Jewish. The first is to be born to a Jewish mother; the second is to convert. Conversion consists of having three Rabbis certify that you have been ritually bathed and circumcised, that you have learned the principles of Judaism, and are converting out of sincere belief. Generally, they issue a certificate so that you can prove that you are Jewish to whoever might need to know. So I reject Asher's accusation that Jews are somehow trying to create a master race; no one is turned down for conversion on racial grounds. There are people of every race and ethnicity who convert to Judaism, and actually, people in very surprising places who were born Jewish - Tribes of Kurdish Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Jews who've been on the Indian subcontinent for centuries if not millenia, etc.
Now, I'll try to explain to the best of my knowledge the laws of the State of Israel in question.
The main way of becoming an Israeli citizen, if not born in Israel (all born in Israel are citizens) is to be Jewish and immigrate under the Law of Return, a law which allows Jews to come to Israel. The definition of a Jew used for the Law of Return is different from the traditional one though, and includes people with Jewish relatives. Also, there was an Israeli supreme court case which ruled against a born Jew who had converted to Catholicism on the grounds that by converting, he had separated himself from the Jewish people. Converts however, are most certainly allowed in. New immigrants to Israel recieve certain benefits to aid in their integration into society. Help with the rent, free Hebrew lessons, etc. Israel has a rather generous welfare system though, and contrary to Guynemer's assertion, that system serves all of its citizens. In fact, a new law was recently passed with the help of the Arab parties in the Knesset which gave generous benefits to large families, that is, Orthodox Jews and Arabs - the mostly non-Orthodox public was outraged, but the law stands.
Paiktis: My understanding is that the answer is no. If you married a Jewish woman and immigrated with her though, you would be let in.
Imran:
I love this country and I'll defend it, but I love it because it gave my ancestors freedom to practice their religion and continues to extend that freedom to me. You seem to want America to be like Czarist Russia, always trying to crush any ethnicity or religion which is not "truly American."
Yet somehow, after so many of those societies have finished, we're still here, still different, but still practicing the same faith. Besides, I don't think you'd like it much if someone told you and your family to give up their Islamic identity because it was un-American and would make them targets of persecution.
So if you believe in Judaism you're brainwashed but if you believe in anything else, that's just your choice? That seems like a double standard to me. When people talk this way about any religion, I cringe.
First, who is a Jew according to the traditional definition still used today
There are two ways to be Jewish. The first is to be born to a Jewish mother; the second is to convert. Conversion consists of having three Rabbis certify that you have been ritually bathed and circumcised, that you have learned the principles of Judaism, and are converting out of sincere belief. Generally, they issue a certificate so that you can prove that you are Jewish to whoever might need to know. So I reject Asher's accusation that Jews are somehow trying to create a master race; no one is turned down for conversion on racial grounds. There are people of every race and ethnicity who convert to Judaism, and actually, people in very surprising places who were born Jewish - Tribes of Kurdish Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Jews who've been on the Indian subcontinent for centuries if not millenia, etc.
Now, I'll try to explain to the best of my knowledge the laws of the State of Israel in question.
The main way of becoming an Israeli citizen, if not born in Israel (all born in Israel are citizens) is to be Jewish and immigrate under the Law of Return, a law which allows Jews to come to Israel. The definition of a Jew used for the Law of Return is different from the traditional one though, and includes people with Jewish relatives. Also, there was an Israeli supreme court case which ruled against a born Jew who had converted to Catholicism on the grounds that by converting, he had separated himself from the Jewish people. Converts however, are most certainly allowed in. New immigrants to Israel recieve certain benefits to aid in their integration into society. Help with the rent, free Hebrew lessons, etc. Israel has a rather generous welfare system though, and contrary to Guynemer's assertion, that system serves all of its citizens. In fact, a new law was recently passed with the help of the Arab parties in the Knesset which gave generous benefits to large families, that is, Orthodox Jews and Arabs - the mostly non-Orthodox public was outraged, but the law stands.
Paiktis: My understanding is that the answer is no. If you married a Jewish woman and immigrated with her though, you would be let in.
Imran:
BS! They are American, and I'm glad that they are casting off the false nationality of Judaism to become truly Americans.
Don't you think that this ethnic seperation and ethnic purity is part (if not a lot) of the reason why Jews have been persecuted throughout the ages? Because they are different and want to be seperate from the rest of the society.
I'm actually happy that there will be less Jews. They are taking control of their lives and marrying who they wish and believing in what they wish instead of being brainwashed by a religion and a claim of ethnicity that doesn't exist.
Comment