This past chol hamoed Pesach, "Shai," the Organization
for the Preservation of the Jewish Identity of Israel,
organized two demonstrations. One was held in front of the
offices of the IDF Rabbinate in Tel Aviv, while the other was
held opposite the offices of Netiv. The demonstrators
protested against the IDF Rabbinate's performance of
fictitious "conversions" and Netiv's granting immigration
permits to masses of non-Jews from the C.I.S.
The demonstration in front of the entrance of the office of
the IDF Rabbinate in Tel Aviv was attended by a number of
Torah-observant Jews -- former Russians -- who protested the
IDF Rabbinate's wholesale "conversion" industry for non-
Jewish soldiers from the C.I.S. The demonstration was held in
the wake of a disclosure by Yated Ne'eman and in light
of the fact that the "rabbis" who signed the "conversion"
certificates are unnamed.
The demonstrators bore banners reading: "Shame on the Judaism
Tradesman;" "The IDF Rabbinate Conversions are a Chilul
Hashem and a Disgrace to the IDF;" "Stop the False
Conversions -- Pity Us and our Children." The demonstrators
explained the reason for the protest to passing soldiers,
telling them about reports filling the Russian language
newspapers that praise the easy "conversions" offered within
the military. They also explained the danger that massive
assimilation of non-Jews poses to the continuation of the
Jewish Nation.
A number of uniformed soldiers did not hesitate to express
their identification with and support for the demonstrators.
The demonstrators noted that in addition to the chilul
Hashem and contempt for Torah displayed by those
conducting these "conversions," the trend also undermines
orderly procedure, since the converting rabbis refuse to sign
their names and reveal their identities.
They also called this trend an abuse of public funds, since
the IDF Rabbinate budgets supposedly earmarked for the
soldiers' many religious needs are being exploited by the
conversion industry. The demonstrators announced that they
intend to conduct additional protest activities, both against
these spurious conversions and against the overall fictitious
conversion systems which have been thriving in the State in
recent years.
Shai also held a "traditional demonstration" in front of the
Netiv offices, in protest of the continued importation of non-
Jews from the countries of the C.I.S. It was attended by
aliya activists and former Prisoners of Zion. In previous
years, Netiv had opened its offices on chol hamoed in
the mornings. This year, however, apparently due to its
unwillingness to expose itself to the demonstration, the
offices closed early, before the demonstration began.
The demonstrators protested the continuation of the policy of
encouraging immigration from the C.I.S which, in essence
under the conditions prevailing today, encourages inundation
of the state by non-Jewish immigrants. They pointed to the
destructive role of Netiv in this pernicious trend.
Former head of Netiv Yaakov Kedmi even affirmed the
demonstrators' claims. A day before the demonstration he
appeared on an interview in the media and bemoaned the fact
that the Interior Ministry, currently under the "control" of
Yisrael B'Aliya, is not doing enough to welcome non-Jewish
immigrants from the C.I.S.
The demonstrators condemned the stubborn opposition of the
heads of Netiv to any suggested change in the Law of Return
which would restrict the non-Jewish immigration. They claim
that Yaakov Kedmi's position on this issue is well known, and
that his successor, Tzvi Magen, recently remarked during
deliberations in the Knesset's Aliya and Absorption committee
that as a government employee he is prevented from stating
his position on the matter. However, immediately afterwards,
he expounded on the issue in a manner clearly indicating that
he believes that the Law of Return must not be changed.
The demonstrators, among them former Prisoners of Zion and
aliya activists, stressed that Netiv gained its power and
status from the hundreds of thousands of Jewish families who
lived in Russia and who suffered from their non-Jewish
neighbors. They said that they are the children of those
Jewish families who provided the "Jews" in the census polls
of the Soviet Union, thereby justifying the need for an
office such as Netiv, which is experienced in forming links
with Jews being the Iron Curtain. They then said that now
that almost no Jewish families live in the C.I.S -- since
nearly all came to Israel with the hope of never again
encountering an oppressive non-Jewish environment -- Netiv's
representatives earn their livings by granting immigration
permits to masses of non-Jews.
They also noted that the two organizations involved in this
scheme -- the Jewish Agency and Netiv -- each pin the
responsibility on the other, when essentially each serves the
needs of its counterpart. The Jewish Agency locates non-
Jewish "immigration candidates," while Netiv provides them
with permits.
In addition, startling statistics about the salaries of Netiv
personnel were disclosed. The demonstrators ask why the
recommendations of the official investigating committee and
those of the State Comptroller regarding Netiv were "thrown
into the garbage," as Yaakov Kedmi so brashly says, and why
the multi-legged octopus continues to flourish.
One of the demonstrators related how in the beginning of 1991
he met a new Jewish immigrant who had made aliya at the same
time that Yaakov Kedmi and his assistant, Lev Niv, had made
aliya. The demonstrator described the intense cynicism with
which the two related to complaints regarding the stream of
non-Jews from Russia into Israel. The demonstrators declared
that evading the issue will be of no avail, and that the
outcry against non-Jewish immigration will continue to
reverberate. In the end, it will embrace all of the Jews of
the country who want their children to remain Jews in their
land and not to assimilate among imported masses of non-
Jews. "The battle to stop the importation of non-Jews and to
save Israeli society from total destruction and attrition
will continue," he said.
