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Israel High Court Gives Citizenship To Messianics-- Does Not Recognize Them As Jews

By Howard Friedman

Yesterday's Jerusalem Post reports on a ruling handed down last week by Israel's High Court of Justice which is apparently being misreported in some Christian media. In the case, the High Court agreed to remove a pending petition without making a ruling after the petitioners, twelve Messianic Jews, and the Interior Ministry agreed that the Messianics would be granted automatic citizenship under the Law of Return, as amended. The Court's ruling is set out (apparently in full) by Christianity Today. The decision, however, does not recognize the Messianics as Jews, nor does it grant them equal status with Jews.

Two notions underlie the High Court's disposition of the case. First,the Law of Return as amended in 1970 applies not just to Jews, but also to non-Jewish children and grandchildren of Jews, except for a person who has been a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion. A Jew is defined as the child of a Jewish mother or someone who has converted to Judaism. The child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother is not Jewish, and that person's embrace of another religion does not make him or her a convert who is ineligible for citizenship under the Law of Return.

The 12 Messianics involved in last week's case were children of Jewish fathers, not of Jewish mothers. Therefore the decision is not inconsistent with the Beresford case handed down 15 years ago in which the High Court held that Messianic Jews whose mothers were Jewish (and thus who were originally recognized as Jewish) are not entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return because they were Jews who had voluntarily converted.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on April 23, 2008 (boomark / email).