A public furor has erupted over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
unprecedented criticism of halachic conversion as practiced
in the State of Israel. At a government meeting last week
Sharon said the State should "stop getting involved in the
converts' personal lives" and announced he intends to
initiate reform in every area of conversion, including "not
forcing converts to keep mitzvos and a Jewish way of
life."
His remarks show Sharon wants to continue pursuing the aims
of the secular coalition he formed and to erase all traces of
Judaism from the State. Now, after surrendering to
innumerable demands made by the Shinui Party in various
areas, Sharon seeks to implement the Shinui platform designed
to wreak destruction on Yiddishkeit in Eretz
Hakodesh.
At Sunday's meeting Sharon claimed the beis din system
"heaps difficulties on converts. The botei din demand
they demonstrate a Jewish way of life." Sharon also said,
"There is no need to come to the converts with demands none
of us could meet, such as visiting holy sites." Ministers
Avigdor Lieberman and Tzipi Livni joined the Prime Minister
in his attack on the beis din system.
The Chief Rabbinate rejected Sharon's unfounded claims,
saying his remarks on the requirement to visit holy sites are
incorrect and are the result of libel intended to generate
public pressure against the beis din system.
Spokesmen at the Prime Minister's Office say Sharon is
concerned over the decrease in the number of immigrants from
the former Soviet Union. Since the beginning of the year only
11,000 new immigrants have arrived, a rate that falls short
of Sharon's stated goal of bringing one million immigrants
during the next ten years. Sharon backers say the decrease is
due to the difficulties the beis din system imposes on
conversion candidates.
To promote his detailed plan to reform conversion, on two
recent occasions the Prime Minister sent the director-general
of his office, Avigdor Yitzchaki, to meet with Chief Rabbi
Shlomo Amar. Top-ranking Rabbinate officials say that the
fact Yitzchaki found the time to hold two meetings on the
issue despite pressing political and economic matters
demonstrates Sharon intends to push his reform idea as much
as possible.
Sharon's plans to alter conversion practices include
accelerated assembly- line conversions--which are invalid
even bedi'eved if the candidate does not accept the
yoke of Torah and mitzvos--and appointing former Mafdal MK
Rabbi Chaim Druckman as head of the Conversion Administration
to execute the lenient changes.
One member of the Prime Minister's staff said, "Conversion
will remain conversion based on halacha, but the idea is not
to carry out more checks on the converts to verify they are
keeping mitzvos."
According to figures close to Sharon, he said, "It is
inconceivable that conversion candidates be required to go to
adoptive families to learn."
The Vaad HaRabbonim LeInyonei Giyur, founded by the late Rav
Chaim Kreiswirth, ztz"l, explained that having a close
relationship with an adoptive family is an essential part of
exposing conversion candidates to as many aspects of Judaism
as possible. "It seems the Prime Minister wants to lend a
hand to a non-halachic conversion system in which the
conversion candidates are not required to sincerely undertake
to keep Torah and mitzvos. Conversions performed even by so-
called Orthodox rabbis, where it is quite obvious that the
conversion candidate never sincerely undertook to observe
Torah and mitzvos, will not be recognized by any beis din
choshuv in Israel or abroad. The Vaad reiterates that
conversion is not a viable solution for the problem of the
nearly half a million non-Jews living in Israel," said the
Vaad spokesman.
Rabbonim and dayanim say Sharon wants to pressure the
Chief Rabbis to carry out his reform by threatening to
advance the date of elections for the Chief Rabbinate, an
initiative hatched by Shinui. According to law, only the
Chief Rabbi and the President of the Beis Din Hagodol are
authorized to approve changes in conversion procedures.
Current Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar said he does not
intend to execute any changes that will cause the
dayanim to deviate from the path of halocho.
