A place beside Hitler
Former president of Haifa rabbinical court curses Chief Justice for ruling on 'jump conversions'; Knesset to discuss matter in last session before Passover break
Axelrod's comments were made this past Shabbat in reaction to last week's Supreme Court decision authorizing "jump conversions" in which converts complete non-Orthodox conversion courses in Israel, only to "jump" abroad to formally convert. The decision has aroused fury in the Orthodox world.
Israel no longer 'Jewish'
Speaking in his weekly address on Shabbat afternoon, Axelrod added “the Jewish state has ceased being ‘Jewish’ the moment it recognized Reform conversions. The country is already destroyed.
He explained that the Hebrew word “meshumad” (literally “destroyed”) usually refers to an individual who converts out of Judaism, and that the conversion issue signifies the country has “converted”, and can no longer be considered a “Jewish” state.
Opinions on the court's ruling
Knesset discusses issue
Wednesday afternoon, the Knesset’s final session before the Pesach break was dedicated to the conversion issue, after the Shas Party gathered the requisite 25 signatures to force the debate. The Ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party also threatened to create a coalition crisis over the issue if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refuses to propose a law to bypass the Supreme Court decision.
Sefardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar said a Knesset majority would not force the Orthodox world to accept “goyim as Jews,” and said non-Orthodox converts were ‘goyim’ in every way.
He added the ruling would create two Jewish peoples in Israel that would refuse to marry with one another.
