Statement of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Regarding the Ruling of Israel’s Supreme Court on Non-Halachic Conversions

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America deeply concerned by the ruling today of the Israeli Supreme Court, which allows persons converted in Reform and Conservative ceremonies aboard to be granted Jewish status under Israel’s Law of Return.

Union President Stephen Savitsky and Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb issued the following statement:

We support the Israeli Chief Rabbinate in condemning this decision of Israel’s Supreme Court, which ignores the historical realities of the State of Israel. Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, recognized the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and its designees to be the sole decisors in matters of Jewish identity.

We are concerned that in issuing its decision, the Supreme Court has transcended its jurisdiction and has trespassed into the domain of the religious authority of the Chief Rabbinate.

The decision of the Court may eventually lead to the division of the People of Israel into two camps. There will be a group of halachically valid Jews and a group of people who are Jewish only by the ruling of the Supreme Court. The consequences of this ruling will be tragic.