The Rabbinical Court Administration of the Chief Rabbinate
is continuing to cooperate and to channel funds to the Joint
Conversion Institutes, in which Conservative and Reform are
allowed to participate along with the Orthodox, which have
been prohibited by all gedolei harabonim.
One year ago rabbinical courts director-general Rabbi
Eliyahu Ben-Dahan, admitted that he was transferring funds
to the Joint Conversion Institutes via his bureau, as
reported in Yated Ne'eman. The funds are transferred
despite injunctions by gedolei harabonim barring any
form of cooperation with the Conversion Institutes and
following a Chief Rabbinical Council resolution issued
against them on 13 Shvat 5758.
According to a document obtained by Yated Ne'eman,
the 2001 budget for the Joint Conversion Institutes comes to
more than NIS 6 million ($1.5 million). These funds are
designated solely for the Joint Conversion Institutes, while
Orthodox conversion ulpanim receive a much smaller
budget from the Ministry of Education. The Vaad HaRabbonim
Haolami LeInyonei Giyur headed by HaRav Chaim Kreiswirth
av beis din of Antwerp, says that Rabbi Ben-Dahan
cannot be allowed to serve as a pipeline for the transfer of
funds to an organization that has been barred by maranan
verabonon shlita, and also a decision of the Chief
Rabbinate Council. It should be noted that Rabbi Ben-Dahan
is an employee of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and therefore
bound by the decisions of the Council.
According to reports received by Yated Ne'eman, an
organization that works toward fairness in government plans
to file a High Court appeal regarding the discriminatory
funding policies.
The Vaad has expressed concern over the favoritism shown
towards the Joint Conversion Institutes and the preferred
treatment toward those who complete the course of study
there. Despite the injunctions, the larger Joint Conversion
Institutes' budgets could induce some teachers at the
Orthodox ulpanim -- which are facing the threat of closure
due to lack of funding -- to decide to move to the Joint
Conversion Institutes for the higher salaries. Several
botei din that specialize in giyur have
already begun to convert graduates of the Joint Conversion
Institutes.
The Director of the Rabbinate Courts announced recently that
he sent several rabbonim to see what takes place at the
Joint Conversion Institutes. It is unclear whether these
delegations were approved by the Chief Rabbi of Israel,
despite the sweeping injunctions imposed by all gedolei
Yisroel and by the Chief Rabbinate Council. So far
neither the results of the investigation nor the names of
the rabbonim involved have been reported.
A Yated Ne'eman reporter tried to contact Rabbi Ben-
Dahan with a series of questions regarding the accusations
raised in this article. When no reply was received three
days later, another attempt was made to contact him through
his spokesman, who said the Director of the Rabbinical
Courts declined comment.
All of the reports published so far are based on documents
in the possession of Yated Ne'eman and on numerous
testimonies provided by people involved in the conversion
issue. Yated Ne'eman will continue to publish reports
on the false conversions industry, which apparently has the
full backing of officials at the Chief Rabbinate Courts, in
direct contradiction with halocho and the directives of
gedolei Yisroel.
