Conversion Letter


			Washington Hebrew Congregation



		Dear Friends of IRAC, Which country is not down on Israel these days? Answer: Micronesia. This small Pacific island nation has yet to issue a statement condemning our country. I never talk about politics in my letters to you, but I need to draw your attention to the connection between the politicians who recently embarrassed U.S. Vice President Joe Biden by making an announcement that violated Israel’s commitment to the American government, and those same politicians who make efforts to advance the destructive new conversion bill, which we asked you to speak out against last week. The parties who form Israel’s current coalition have allowed small-minded, internal party-politics to push Israel to the brink of a serious international crisis. The conversion bill these parties have recently driven the Israeli government to consider would, among other things, distinguish between Jews by blood and Jews by choice, favoring the former, discriminating against the latter. If passed, the new law would also give full authority over conversions to the ultra-Orthodox Rabbinate, eliminating any hope for recognition of Reform and Conservative conversions. These crucial decisions over “who is a Jew” are being made without consulting Klal Yisrael, as if Israel exists in a vacuum in the world at large, and in the Jewish world in particular. As things stand right now, we don’t know whether Members of Knesset will vote on the bill before they leave for a five-week Pesach break; we could be notified of a decision to vote as early as one day – or one hour – before. But your pressure and passion last week has taken much of the steam out of the engine chugging toward passage of the conversion bill. Thousands of you sent letters directly to the Prime Minister or your Ambassador, and hundreds of you signed the letter on our website; we’ve already printed and delivered two heavy parcels with your letters inside to the Prime Minister’s office. Don’t let anyone tell you that this is the worst time to criticize Israel for something as seemingly small as a conversion bill, or buy the warning that we should ignore religious pluralism problems because there are bigger issues at hand. Under the guise of more-important-things-to-worry-about, we forget that if Israel were more tolerant of pluralism from within, it would do better at conducting itself from without. Israel needs to learn to walk and chew gum at the same time. We need to fight two fronts at once: for religious pluralism and tolerance, and for frank and open relations with our friends in the political arena. Keep the pressure on: if you haven’t sent a letter, please do so by copying and pasting the letter below and sending it to the Prime Minister and your Ambassador. We need your vote, too. L’shalom, Anat Hoffman For more information on the conversion bill, click here Please copy and paste the letter below and send it to the following addresses: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Prime.Minister'sOffice@it.pmo.gov.il Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren: info@washington.mfa.gov.il ------------------Cut and paste below--------------- The Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel Office of the Prime Minister Jerusalem, Israel Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu, We write to request your immediate intervention to prevent passage of the legislation being brought forward by MK David Rotem. We are deeply concerned about the intention to grant the Chief Rabbinate sole control over conversion in Israel. Such legislation would be an open attack on the legitimacy of non-Orthodox Jewry, which composes the majority of world Jewry. In addition, passage of this bill would have the effect of altering the Law of Return, or, at the very least, causing undue hardship to anyone in Israel who comes from a Diaspora community and seeks to convert in Israel. While we are supportive of efforts to create greater accessibility to conversion courts in Israel, the overall impact of the Rotem Bill will set back these efforts. Should this bill be enacted, it will exacerbate a widening gap between Diaspora and Israel communities, which we are working hard to avoid. Therefore, we believe it is imperative that you, as leader of Israel, and as one who cares deeply about the well-being of Klal Yisrael, intervene and urge immediate withdrawal of this bill.