http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4528683,00.html
Israel rejects Africans' request to convert to Judaism
Dozens of Eritrean and Sudanese infiltrators have asked to become part of
Jewish people in past year bid to receive residence permit and perhaps even
Israeli citizenship, Ynet learns.
Kobi Nachshoni
Published: 06.11.14, 00:19 / Israel Jewish Scene
Dozens of Eritrean and Sudanese infiltrators residing in Israel illegally
have requested to convert to Judaism in the past year in a bid to receive a
residence permit and perhaps even an Israeli citizenship, Ynet has learned.
Their requests were rejected out of hand by the Conversion Authority for
failing to meet preconditions.
According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Religious of Services,
dozens of Africans tried to begin a conversion process, and most requests
were made when the infiltrators' problem was at the center of the public
and media's attention.
A ministry official estimates that the immediate refusal made the entire
community realize that it would not find a solution to its distress that
way, and the number of requests soon diminished.
"The government built a fence in the south, on the state's border, and we
built one here, at the entrance gate to the Jewish people," Shmuel
Jeselsohn, head of the State Conversion Authority, told Ynet. "That's why
even when there are infiltrators seeking to convert - it's not a
phenomenon."
Rejected without discussion
According to Jeselsohn, until a few years ago there were no precondition
for conversion, so that "everyone who was deported or banned entry to
Israel would immediately knock on the door, and we had to summon them for
an interview and start a process.
"This has been stopped," he added, and now foreign nationals are required
to fill out a form requesting a conversion, which is discussed together
with Justice Ministry representatives. If the request is filed by an
illegal resident, it will be denied immediately.
Yet religious sources have expressed their fear that the state will
regularize the status of African infiltrators in the future and allow them
to reside in Israel. In such a case, they will have the legal right to
convert, despite the fact that they have no halachic affiliation to the
Jewish people.
"The stories we hear from the religious courts, that they allegedly abuse
converts, will pale in comparison to what we are expected to see with the
Africans," a Conversion Authority source told Ynet.
"Today we are still talking about immigrants from the former Soviet Union,
who in the worst case are assimilators of Jewish descent, and so we are
still lenient with them. But here we are talking about tens of thousands
who want to assimilate into us and have no connection to Judaism."
Appeals received from Palestinians too
Jeselsohn says the tension between the civil law and Jewish Law is built
into the conversion issue, but is hardly witnessed these days.
Jeselsohn offers one example: "A while ago I met a woman with a head cover,
who obviously maintains a very religious lifestyle and really wants to be
part of the Jewish people. But then it turned out that several years ago
she tried to enter Israel without a permit, and so legally she must not be
converted."
Today, the exceptions committee allows the Conversion Authority to begin
the process for a person who fails to meet the preconditions only in very
rare cases. According to Jeselsohn, "We are occasionally approached by
Palestinians who experience problems entering Israel."
He recalls an amusing incident when a Bedouin who began taking Judaism
lessons called to inquire why he was not receiving an allowance like any
other yeshiva student.
Received on Fri Jun 13 2014 - 11:53:36 EDT