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November 9, 2009 | 10:22 am
The British Dare to Determine Who is a Jew
Posted by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
Every once in a while, a story comes along so jolting that it is scarcely believable. One such story appeared in The New York Times, of all places, this past Sunday, about how the Jews’ Free School in London has been ordered to admit a child whose mother had a non-orthodox conversion after the child’s parents sued.
I will not enter here into the ongoing and bitter divide in England between orthodox and progressive Jews. It was a battle that I witnessed and worked hard to mend through countless essays and public forums over the 11 years that I lived in the United Kingdom. Less so will I address here the very pressing questions of Jewish status as determined by conversion on the part of Judaism’s three major branches. I am a passionately orthodox Jew who is equally passionate about Jewish unity. Our divisions must indeed be addressed and healed. But this shocking story in Britain raises something far more pressing that is of equal concern to orthodox and non-orthodox alike.
What is mind-boggling is that a British court of appeals, which ruled against the school, said that the Jewish community’s ancient tradition of deciding Jewishness through parenthood is ethnically based, discriminatory, and therefore unlawful.
“The requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act,” the court said. Whether the reasons were “benign or malignant, theological or supremacist makes it no less and no more unlawful.” In an astonishing ruling, the court said that if the child practiced Judaism, then he is Jewish. But to base the decision on his parents was an unlawful emphasis on ethnicity, rather than on religious faith. One can immediately understand the implications for Jews who are not at all observant. Presumably the British government would not consider them Jews.
Now, let’s put aside for a moment the unbelievable infringement of government on the affairs of a religion and focus instead on the court’s rationale. If you are living in Britain, you become a citizen automatically if your parents are British. Even if you don’t behave particularly British, or hate the country of your birth, the UK cannot take away your passport. Likewise, if you’re an American living abroad, your children automatically acquire American citizenship. I should know because six of my nine children were born in Britain, and even though only one of their parents was American, and was living in Europe to boot, they automatically became Americans.
Even if you never celebrated the Fourth of July or have ever heard of Abraham Lincoln, you and your children are as American as George Washington himself. So is it really that difficult for British judges to understand that peoplehood is conveyed through a parent? The Jews are first and foremost a people and only secondarily a faith. We were the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob before we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai and began practicing Judaism’s tenets.
Peoplehood comes first and is completely independent of any kind of religious affirmation. Jewishness is not something that can be lost and it is not something that can be renounced. In this sense, Judaism is radically different from Christianity, which requires a conscious act of affirmation.
While there cannot be atheist Christians, there are plenty of atheist Jews. I am gobsmacked that a British court is challenging this. In my 11 years living in Britain, I never heard anything so outrageous. This ruling constitutes a legal assault on the very integrity of the Jewish religion as practiced in Britain and is a watershed moment in modern Jewish history. And with all the recent stories of British academics seeking to bar their Israeli counterparts from conferences and the rise of anti-Semitic incidents in the British Isles, it will only further cement world opinion that Britain is a country that is becoming hostile to Jews.
Being a people does not make us a homogenous ethic group. There are black Jews and white Jews, European Jews and Asian Jews. Converts of every ethnicity can of course join us at any time. But in so doing they are not adopting a faith but a people. They do not become merely practitioners of the Jewish fait but part of the Jewish family. A convert is transformed from an outsider into a Jewish brother or sister. But the process must of course have standards. To be a British citizen is not an arbitrary act. It takes approximately 10 years of residency. Likewise, my Australian wife’s naturalization as an American citizen took many years of residency and required passing a test of American knowledge. Now just imagine how absurd it would be if the United States told Britain to alter its residency requirements, or vice versa, and you can begin to understand the chutzpa of British judges trying to alter the identity requirements of a three-and-half thousand year faith that is the precursor of Christianity.
Next week, my organization This World: The Values Network will sponsor the first-ever conference on Jewish values. It will feature some of the world’s leading Jewish personalities, including Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Yeshiva University President Richard Joel, Alan Dershowitz, Dennis Prager, Michael Steinhardt, AIPAC president David Victor and Marianne Williamson. Among of our religion’s principle values are community and peoplehood. For thousands of years, dispersed throughout the world, Jews have always looked out for one another. You could turn up in any city, and, regardless of level of observance, you would be invited to someone’s home for the Sabbath and made to feel like family, even though just moments before you were a complete stranger. In light of this outrageous British legal challenge to this time-honored principle of Jewish peoplehood, we will be adding an entire plenary devoted to explicating the special Jewish value of identity and peoplehood and hope that it will assist British Jewry in knowing that they are not alone in this critical battle.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is founder of This World: The Values Network. To register for The Jewish Values Conference, taking place in NYC on Nov. 17 and 18, go to www.thisworld.us.
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Despite the impassioned words of Rabbi Boteach, he has not addressed the key legal aspect of the case, namely that JFS is a state-funded school and therefore subject to the laws of the State.
Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel
Thank you for posting this. I really find it obnoxious how the mainstream media ignores stories like this.
Ignored by the main stream media?
What is http://www.NYTimes.com— chopped liver?
Sorry, but there’s an egregious logic fault in the following: “One can immediately understand the implications for Jews who are not at all observant. Presumably the British government would not consider them Jews.” The ruling doesn’t remove Jewish status, it merely confers it. You can argue with what you consider a bugus confering, but the inverse is not true. That’s cheap.
I am a atheist, and agree with the rabbi.no goi or even Jewish atheist can decide who is a Jew, only rabbis
I don’t understand what is the point of determining who is a Jew and who is not. It is just like saying who is a Christian and who is not because of some strict rules given by non-church organ. Interesting article, but the problem still remains strange for me.
The fact is youcan not not choose to believe a little bit, It is all or nothing
It’s a bit rich for Shmuley to be wading in at this late hour! Where was he six months ago when this was raging? Things a bit quiet there Shmuley? Or maybe you don’t bother to read (for example) The Jewish Chronicle http://www.thejc.com and keep abreast. If you were so involved with the various fora in the UK, one would have thought that you would have taken a MUCH earlier interest! It’s OK, you can go back to sleep now…
One small point that Rabbi Boteach overlooks. He clearly states that one is a British or American citizen if either of your parents are citizens. As the Rabbi also says, being Jewish is being part of a people and therefore it follows that with either of your parents being Jewish, one is Jewish. I wonder, when will Jewish Orthodoxy recognize this simple fact that others Jews already embrace.
They key issue is that this is a state funded school. If it was a private school, I would be in complete agreement with the Shmuley. However, as it is funded by the state, it has to follow certain rules (I know laws in the US are different than the UK). The answer would be to privatize the school.
Any time the state gets involved in religion, it’s unavoidable that the representatives of the state will control and determine aspects of the religion. A good example is the position of the Israeli chief rabbis, who are approved by a vote of the members of the Israeli Knesset among whom are Muslims, Christians, and atheists.
This school takes state money. this is precisely why Jews benefit here from the separation of church and state. When I see Jews argue that private and parochial schools should be entitled to state money, they minimize the risks of precisely this exposure to the states jurisdiction. I can not see the logic of boteach’s arguments - of course the state is entitled to apply its laws given it is the funding source.
Who is a Jew? Any person perceived by others to be Jewish—whether actually Jewish or not. Good example—Rachel Maddow of MSNBC—born and raised Catholic by her own statements. A definition that is 21st century based and makes good sense.
Yes, Shmuley, G-d forbid an arbitrary court should decide who is a Jew. Me? I’d take my chances with the English courts before I would with the Chief Rabbinate in Israel. At least the former won’t retroactively declare a conversion void after a decade.
Also, the Orthodox redefinition of the halacha on conversion is one of the worst ironies of “orthodoxy.” How can you redefine the halacha and be orthodox?! The Shulchan Arukh, the Talmud, and the Mishneh Torah say nothing about who has to compose the bet din, as long as they are Jewish. But “orthodoxy” requires not just rabbis (no such requirement except in recent innovations of the halacha) by orthodox rabbis, on a special list. Hmph.
Let me tell you something Mr. Boteach, I wouldn’t trust you GDed rabbis to give me the time of day. You the same losers who lead 6 million to death. Your track record, especially the GD Orthodox speaks for itself.
I would actually trust the Brits way ahead of any of you four-eyed creeps and all that religious garb crap you wear.
By the way, my mother is Jewish and neither she nor any of you will define anything about me. I might say Go to Hell, but based upon your recent article in the Jewish Journal, you don’t believe in Hell. Not that there is no Hell, just that you don’t believe in it. Kind of like a child holding his or her breath ‘til they hear what they want. Since Hell isn’t a happy place you want to hear that it doesn’t exist, yet your article talked like it did exist, but you and us Jews (if for the sake of this argument, I’ll say I am one) don’t believe in it. As if I would ever, ever let you sickening SOB’s decide anything I believe or not believe. I am not part of your brain-washed, brain-dead cult…Plonie…
Just for the record, Ploni Ben above is not me in spite of his witty Nom de Net.
As for “By the way, my mother is Jewish and neither she nor any of you will define anything about me”, whoa! “... neither she”???!!! Leave it on your therapist’s couch, for goodness sakes. I bet your mother is sorry now she ate that shrimp salad while she was pregant.
I hate to humor you, Plonie but that was kinda funny without the usual right-wing evil meanness. Maybe we’re making some progress here. LOL. Now I almost lost my head, thinking any of you know-it-all, self-righteous religious bastards would ever be decent people. No, I’ve been around long enough not to let myself be so naive anymore. In any case your above comment was kinda funny, kind of like even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.
NEVADA SUPREME COURT CASE “United States of America” GOING ON: THIS HATE CRIME RACIST ACTIVITY THE SAME AS HITLERS LAWS WERE OF
“WHO IS A JEW”
IS GOING ON EVERYWHERE BY CHABAD.
WHO WANTS HITLERS LAWS AROUND AGAIN CHABAD?
IN LAS VEGAS FEDERAL COURTS A CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER IS ALLOWED TO HIDE IN BANKRUPTCY.
WHY? SO THE VICTIMS HAVE NOTHING LEFT IN COURT TO GO FORWARD ON THE ISSUES OF RAPE AND “WHO IS A JEW” RACIST INVESTIGATIONS.
IN LAS VEGAS THAT IS HOW YOU GET A JUDGMENT ON VICTIMS OF HATE LAWS.
Chabad Motto? If At First You Don’t Succeed, Sue the Victim
A Chabad man serves as the hazzan of a Chabad synagogue. Several years ago, outside another synagogue after a community event, the Chabad hazzan sexually assaults a woman who is a member of the Chabad synagogue. He is eventually arrested and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct. He is sentenced, serves a very brief time, is given probation and community service.
Meanwhile, the victim civilly sues Chabad, in part because she claims Chabad sheltered the hazzan. Now Chabad has sought a judgment against the victim for more than $175,000 in attorneys’ fees, and a judge is about to grant that.
The Chabad? Las Vegas, Nevada. The Rabbi? She Harlig. The hazzan? Michael Segelstein. As Jewish Survivors notes:
Rabbi Harlig is attempting to sue a rape victim for attorney fees. This is a rape victim of a convicted sex offender who is on the national sex offender list.
Immediately after the arrest, Rabbi Harlig falsely claimed this victim – who worked in the synagogue’s kitchen – was not Jewish. She went to the RCA’s beit din. They investigated and found Rabbi Harlig’s claim false. The woman is the daughter of a Jewish holocaust survivor from Vienna, Austria. The beit din issued her a document verifying her Jewishness. But, during the time the beit din was investigating Rabbi Harlig’s false claims, this woman’s teenage son – a very active synagogue goer and participant – was forced to sit in the back of the synagogue. He was banned from receiving aliyot or leading services. And he was shunned by other members, as was his mother, apparently at the direction of Rabbi Harlig.
And the man who attempted to rape this woman? He is a proud member of Chabad to this day, leading services and fully participating in synagogue life.
A double standard? You bet it is. And that double standard is sanctioned by and orchestrated by Chabad-Lubavitch.
Humans Made
You seems to be posting this same post around the internet. It is still wrong.
The victim erred by suing the wrong people. Just because they have more money than the perpetrator does not make them the responsible party. They should not have to pay big bucks to defend them selves in court for something they didn’t do.
YOU set the double standard. You expect an innocent victim to pay but not the person who brought the suit.
one very important thing i can not understand is why can’t a group of people who are surpose to be leading a community cannot get together and have a standardize or uniformlly acceptable way of conversion. It is the highest kind of imoral behaviour for the rabbis towards converts. Do the rabbis really know how it make their fellow jews to feel when they are not counter as part of a minyan, or given allyah? According to a rabbi he said"they think it makes them a SUPPER JEW BUT IT MAKES THEM LESS OF A JEW.Has the rabbis ever asked themselves WHO CONVERTED AVINU ABRAHAM? As jews our devine task is to make the world a better place. But maybe we should start my making ourselves a better person. when the rabbi does his tefellah do they really meditate on the words they wrote for us in our Orthodox sedurium? Whenever a group or an individual fails to learn from history he/they are bound to make the same mistake.Yes the rabbi said we have more than three thousand years of history or so.Experience has shown that whenever we squable with each other, and allow the gentile to decide our destiney we all pay al terible price.Again this maybe the will of G-d.Well, what do i know? i’m just a jew, and you are the rabbi.
PS.
FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE POSTING COMMENTS, PLEASE BE A LITTLE RESPECTFULL OF A RABBI. If not for his sake, for the fear of G-d. I love you anyway.
Avraham Ben Yaakov. AFRICAN JEW. ABUJA, NIGERIA
Oh boy, well here we go. Let me respond to your last comment, Mr. Ben Yaakov, where you say, “PLEASE BE A LITTLE RESPECTFULL OF A RABBI.” Ummm, how about said rabbi (as well as any priest, minister, imam, etc.) EARNING my respect! Then and only then will he or she get my respect. Sorry but I don’t get bullied and I despise bullies.
It’s funny how you, Mr. Yaakov, complain about the behavior of these rabbis, then you wish for us to be respectful. How about a little self-respect. When people abuse their authority and mistreat people then they should expect to hear about it. Also when you realize that they are not going to change and that they are not going to welcome you, then the best option that I can think of is to move on. You can start your own group and not allow this crap. That is to welcome all comers. There are many non-Orthodox Jewish groups, especially here in the U.S.A. No, they do not meet up to the standards of Orthodox Jews. You know what, too bad and tough. Because as you talk about respect and as I say, my respect has to be earned. Whether I respect the Orthodox or not varies, but generally speaking I don’t like them. Guess what, that is also my right. And for all these Jews who constantly whine, ‘nobody likes us.’ Try this. Try being likable, if it really is so important to you. Better yet, grow up and seek God’s approval ahead of man and the other pieces will eventually fall into place. And by God I do not mean your rabbi, I mean God!
Besides this, if they asked me to be part of a minyan I would say that I’m not Jewish (if I’m in an environment that one can actually say this), because I don’t really want to hear their ego-maniacal crap about how they think they’re the greatest this or that. It is completely sickening. I’m also not going to have them tell me who or what is not a Jew. They will not define who or what I am. Only I will do that. This is called self-respect. I also do not need ten people to pray. I can pray all by myself if I so desire.
We’ll be right back after a commercial interruption from the levite line…
I me my I I I crap whine sickening me me me me.
Thanks, Mr. Line. Back to our regularly scheduled broadcast. What do you have Ben?
OK, Ben here. To Avraham Ben Yaakov,
You say “why can’t a group of people who are surpose to be leading a community cannot get together and have a standardize or uniformlly acceptable way of conversion”.
We do. Orthodox conversion consists of four basic steps that are designed to recreate the original experience of the formation of Israel and lead to a uniform baseline status for a citizen of the Jewish nation. This process remained unchanged for many centuries. Any confusion results from people monkeying around with the process in the last couple of centuries. It’ not about people’s feelings, it’s about eligibilty for citizenship.