Reform asks army to reverse rigid trend in army conversions
Reform Movement in Israel criticizes conversion policy in IDF for 'becoming more rigid.' IDF says criteria for conversion have remained unchanged
IRAC is the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel. In its letter to Stern it presented rulings of the military rabbinate from 2006, demonstrating a more rigorous conversion procedure in the military program.
Soldiers in the program were asked to bring letters of reference from their adoptive families or rabbis, attesting to their extent of observance or frequency of synagogue attendance; they were watched to ensure that the girls dressed modestly and that the boys wore skullcaps and tzitzit, garments worn by Orthodox men.
After the waves of immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, the IDF launched a conversion program for soldiers. The number of participants has grown from dozens to hundreds of conversions a year. Over 100 IDF conversions have been performed since the beginning of 2007.
'IDF spies on soldiers'
Reform rabbi Gilad Kariv told Ynet that for years, the procedure in the military had been a ray of light in Israeli conversion practices.
"While the civil system was more rigorous and demanding, the military adopted a welcoming, tolerant policy. It was an Orthodox conversion with a more moderate position on Jewish law," he said.
"Unfortunately, the rigid norms of the civil program are seeping into the army scheme, endangering the entire military undertaking," he added.
"Until recently, the military system was satisfied with converts learning what they needed to learn and planning to maintain a Jewish lifestyle. They never had a 'mitzvah' police.
"It is intolerable the the IDF spies on soldiers to see how they dress and act and what they do. The people's army cannot conduct itself like a court of a hassidic rabbi," he concluded.
The Reform Movement is engaged in a fight, trying to make the civil system change its policies so that they would be more appealing to immigrants who wanted to convert to Judaism.
However, rather than the military system influencing the civil one, it is affected by it.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that the increasing number of soldier converts in the IDF required expanding the program and bringing in people from outside. The criteria, however, have not changed and they are, and were, according to the Halacha (Jewish law).
