If the 100,000 who are halachically defined as non jews can only marry among themselves then have we not now created a new"samaritan" population--neither Jew nor gentile... and when a hebrew speaking teen of this tribe falls for classmate of approved "Jewish" status what then? Is Leberam willing to make these, mostly immigrants from Russia, our new Druze.... friends but never family? Shame on him.

What on Earth does that mean? Where exactly is preserving the borders of the country lie in that order? Where exactly in that order is the issue of "loyalty to the state," the vauge meaningless slogan upon which he won? This guy is pretty cool but pretty nuts.

on this issue. Can somebody be so kind as to clue me in on what the issue is here. The article really doesn't give a whole lot of background on the issue. Are non Jews allowed to marry in a civil service but Jews not?

You are wrong, avramele to say the least... Israel is the only land of Jews and for Jews first of all...Besides the fact, that the conversion process to Judaism is not so hard when you ready and willing to go thru it, it gives to people who are in the process of conversion a special meaning and undersandingn of the great wisdom,history and nobilility of our religion and why it is important....IF the the Jewish people could keep their faith for over 6000 years and many millions of Jews gave up their lives for "Kidush Hashem", then why dissapear now...?! I have personally met and know many young Israelis who made ALiya from Russia, served in the IDF, studied and became proud Jews..I am one of them myself, though I was born Jewish...

#3: Legally marriage is considered a religious act. So it is controlled by the respective religions. If you are a Muslim you have to marry by Muslim standards. If you're a Jew, you marry by Jewish standards etc. If you don't have a religion, you're free to live together, but you can't get married unless you travel abroad (loophole) because Israel recognizes marriages from out of country. It's also an issue for people who want interracial marriages (i.e. Jew to a non-Jew). The main complaints on this are of course, the Russian immigrants who are primarily not Jews (they lied to immigrate under the law of return, and fake Jewish documents were easy to get) and the rest of them that are tend to not care about religion, hence why it is an issue for Lieberman who represents Russians.

Odd that every video of Lieberman has been removed from YouTube - whether in favor or against him.

From what I have gleaned, civil marriage will undermine Israel's Jewish nature. Under Lieberman's plan, taken to its ultimate extreme, Israel will cease to be a Jewish nation. Jews will marry non-Jews by the score. No more Jews. No more Jewish state. Israel will become the land of non-Jews. Israel Beiteinu's civil marrriage ideal is little more than western-style assimilation, with the ultimate aim being the extinction of the Jew.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews came to Israel from the former Soviet Union from 1989 till today. That immigration also brought several hundred thousand non-Jews (members of families containing Jews or those who were brought in by Sochnut that did not care who it was bringing into the country). However, to say that majority of that immigration was non-Jewish is a lie or ignorance on your part.

A united and strong israel is required to protect the true law . The great teachers expounded wisely and as a reward the jews were given the knowledge of atomic defence to balance their purity of numbers .

"The Russian immigrants who are primarily not Jews" This lie made integration into Israeli society very difficult for Russian immigrants in the 90's. While there were cases of Russians lying about their Jewish heritage (I know one such person), the overwhelming majority were Jews, many of them Holocaust survivors and their descendants. The issue is that in Soviet Russia, there has been no taboo against mixed marriages. So, a large number of Russian Jews have non-Jewish mothers and are considered to be non-jews in the Orthodox system. Lieberman wants to allow these people to marry other Jews, something that is allowed by all Jewish denominations except for Orthodoxy.

They start with their own car... IF NOT Then they want a lease car... IF NOT then a RENTAl.. If NOT RENTAL maybe they can ask bobe or zeide for advi$$$E IF NOT THEN THEY ASK TO BORROW DAD's car... JULE VE JULE... At the end I come and they get a METRO PASS SHALOM BAIT !!!

It's enough to make Livni join the government! Well I'm sure that's the idea, anyway. Let the Right-Wing form its own government and wait and see what happens.

thank you for your comment. Unfortunately Jennie the conversion process in Israel is laden with roadlblocks...unlike in the Diaspora the rabbinate demands that converts promise to live a fully halachic lifestyle.I understand and respect that position as a Hardi statement of principle...but it is not appropriate policy for a modern state... what of the many of Jewish background (one jewish parent or grandparent) who identify strongly with our people but would live a secular lifestyle (all the while serving in the IDF, speaking Hebrew and contributing in body and spirit to the zionist enterprise). Zionism was never about the rule of halacha - it was about being free Jews (of many stripes) in our own land. Unfortunately in respect to the practice of being jewish many a diaspora Jew is more free than an israeli.

Foreign affairs is a good job for Liberman. Its a job that doesn't involved dealing with religious issues & you don't need an extensive military background. Liberman would also be ideal for dealing Iran & Syria who are being armed by Russia. He understands Russians, they speak the same language and share some of the same culture. If we want to stop Russia selling S 300 misiles to Iran then Liberman has a better chance at acheivng some kind of agreement than anybody else. If Bibi can try and keep religious issues on the back burner promising to address these problems in time then it will avoid confrontations between Liberman & Shas. Bibi needs to keep finance in the hands of Likud, whilst I trust Liberman with foreign affairs I don't trust him with the money or internal security. Both the defense ministry & chief of staff must be held by men with good records in the field .. those jobs should not be politicised. Just make Liberman himself the job as top diplomat satisfy his sense of self importance which he has developed as a result of gaining being the man both Likud & Kadima need for a coalition then offer hiim a couple of minor positions for other members of his party. Lets also make sure whoever gets the education job overturns all the damage that Yuli Tamir has done .. take nakba make sure the history books dont start saying Israel is responsible for the nakba and put jewish and zionist issues she removed back onto the agenda. If these parties act professionaly and try to get along with each other there is even potential for a strong right wing government that can make real changes as there will be no left wing parties in the coalition to counter all the right wing ones.

Actually, those who lied and faked Jewish documents (an insignificant minority in fact) have no problems to get married in Israel. These are not the people Lieberman wants to help. Under the law of return, one Jewish parent is sufficient to immigrate. But if that parent happened to be your father then you are out of luck: you can be Jewish everywhere in the world EXCEPT Israel. You can have three of your grandparents Jewish and you'll still remain a goy with no rights to marry and divorce in Israel, or be laid to rest traditionally. Rights of people like these Lieberman fights for. So with

A friend of mine in Turkey says many things are now being blocked. Not by YouTube but by Turkey. Same with Iran and some other places. Where do you live? Try a proxy. Mike

Knesset. Guttman, who served in the National Fraud Unit for 21 years said the image of Lieberman portrayed in the press was very different from the man he had encountered in person. "The man is, in my opinion, the fastest-thinking suspect politician the police have had to face. He will come prepared". "Lieberman does not hide behind his right to remain silent. He won't confess, either. He will give full answers and send police abroad looking for evidence," Guttman said. "He does not stutter, and he is not like Olmert, saying he doesn't remember this or that. He has all the facts in his head, and he does not refer to documents when answering questions". I hope your kids grow up to be so clever. Mike

All you say may be true. If in fact you are not considered a Jew - according to the standards of the rabbinate - by virtue of your father being the sole Jewish parent - then obtain a legitimate conversion from an authorized rabbi. I took a non-Jew to an Othodox rabbi (Chabad) a few years back. After he told her some simple things she would be required to observe, she said, "this is not for me." What do you want?

I have contact with large numbers of Russian olim and what I see is that while the majority of the elderly ones are Jewish, their grandchildren are often not. I know several who have non-Jewish grandchildren only. Sad.

The whole of Israel heard Lieberman tell President Peres that his support for Netanyahu as PM was CONDITIONAL on Kadima joining the coalition. Kadima has stood by its guns and will NOT sit in a government with Shas. Lieberman is so obsessed with power that he has sold out his own people! With Shas and the Ashkenazi Ultra-Orthodox parties in Government you will never see electoral reform. You will never see Civil Marriage. You will never see and Oath of Allegiance Law or a reduction in grants and allowances for those who do not serve in the IDF or do not do National Service! If Lieberman goes for this then he has made a total fool of himself, his principles and his party!