Comments on: Rav Aviner Calls on Bayit Yehudi to Stop the Giyur Bill

By: Yagel Libi

Yagel Libi — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 03:14:11 +0000

#2- I’m not familiar with the quote you attribute to MK Stern and fail to see how it can pertain to the bill under discussion. I am also mocheh on your terming MK Stern ‘SR”Y’. And no matter what you think of MK Stern personally, his bill does require orthodox conversions. Finally, while I agree with the position that further safeguards should be added to the bill, that does not justify a false portrayal of the current bill’s provisions. HaEmet VehaShalom Ahevu.

By: dlkanoi

dlkanoi — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 23:31:28 +0000

Many Gedolim, Rabbonim and Poskim both chareidim and dati leumi clearly stated if chas vecholiloh the Giyur bill goes through there would be a need for Sifrei yuchsin.
Does that not clarify enough the danger the bill poses?

By: mobico

mobico — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 19:50:22 +0000

Yagel Libi, you are not looking at the big picture. The MK who has sponsored the bill, Elazar Stern (Shem Resha’im Yirkav), has himself explained that he wishes for the bill to pass so that “people whose father is Jewish will not be humiliated when they come to Israel and told they are not Jewish”. Does that sound to you like he is promoting strictly Orthodox standards of conversion? Rabbi Aviner is not known for his extreme stance on many matters. If he feels so strongly about this, you can be sure that there is reason to be very concerned.

By: Yagel Libi

Yagel Libi — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:12:17 +0000

Oh for goodness sake!

1. The Stern bill merely proposes allowing the Chief Rabbis of Israeli cities to conduct conversions. This is a small, select group of rabbis who are all talmidei chachamim and strictly orthodox. They would all be considered more than qualified to conduct giyurim abroad. The bill most certainly does not ‘permit any kind of giyur as one wishes, Reform, Conservative, light, half, whatever one wishes’.

2. HaBayit HaYehudi already opposes the proposed bill as it believes that, due to the sensitivity of the issue, further safeguards should be added including requiring the approval of the Chief Rabbis of Israel for each conversion, thus giving them veto power.

3. Resigning from the coalition will not stop the bill, which is not being sponsored by the government but rather has been presented as a private bill by MK Stern.