Rivkah Lubitch
Zionist rabbis, wake up!
On the eve of Shavuot, when we read the marvelous story of Ruth the convert, I bow my head in shame in the name of the Jewish people over the treatment of converts in rabbinical courts in Israel
Following an article I wrote recently, in which I related the story of a woman who converted to Judaism 15 years ago and whose conversion was annulled by a rabbinical court judge, many readers wrote to me questioning the authenticity of the story.
"This cannot be," many of them said, "the writer must be concealing some of the facts." Some of the email messages I received included questions from readers who converted, and who were now concerned about their conversion.
Ruling
Rivkah Lubitch
Rabbinical judge rules that woman who converted to Judaism 15 years ago is no longer Jewish because she failed to observe mitzvot; her children also declared non-Jews
In the name of the Jewish people, I bow my head in embarrassment and pain today, on the eve of Shavuot, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah. On this holiday, we read the marvelous story of Ruth the Moabite, who converted and joined the Jewish people with the words, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried."
Rabbis, stand up and protect your honor
I'm ashamed to say that the story is indeed true. A rabbinical judge ordered to revoke the conversion of a woman who underwent a formal conversion many years ago in a court recognized by the Chief Rabbinate, after he spoke to her in passing about her mitzvot observance. The woman's entire family was consequently added to the list of those not permitted to marry Jews.
In his ruling, which goes against the norms of the rabbinical court, the judge harshly slammed head of the conversion courts in Israel, Rabbi Haim Druckman, and stated that all conversions carried out by the special conversion court were invalid.
Rabbis of religious Zionism, It's time for you to wake up! Don't say you did not hear. Don't say you did not see. If you are unwilling to defend the honor of women who were refused a divorce, and are indifferent towards the treatment to foreigners in Israel, at least stand up and defend your honor, if not for you own sake, then for the sake of the Jewish people.
Rivkah Lubitch is head of the Center for Women's Justice Haifa office. She is a rabbinical pleader with six years experience and has an MA in the history of the Jewish people
