Results of Poll on: The "Mi hu Yehudi" Controversy

In our last poll, we inquired:
POLL: The "Mi hu Yehudi" Controversy

In Israel the controversy of "mi hu Yehudi" rages again. The status quo so far has been a dichotomy

For purposes of the Law of Return - anyone victimized by anti-Semitism is eligible to be admitted to the State of Israel with rights of citizenship as per the Law of Return but is not given the status of a Jew.

As far as the personal status of a Jew goes, with its effect on marriage and divorce, a more traditional Halachic definition is applied in order to keep a unified Jewish people.

Question: How do you feel Israel should address the situation?

A. Leave it alone. It's not perfect but no alternative is any better

B. Apply one completely secular definition of a Jew for both circumstances amending the laws regarding marriage and divorce as would be necessary.. Observant Jews can and will have to track "mi hu Yehudi" w/o any official government meddling, for their own religious purposes..

C. Define both cases and thus ALL Jews strictly by one normative Halachic status determined objectively without any consideration of the challenge of this issue. Allow any refugees of anti-Semitism to be granted residence or asylum but NOT citizenship as per the Law of Return.

D. Define all status by Halachah as in C, BUT consideration should be given to this issue and thus lenient positrons in regard to conversion should be considered and applied.

E. Maintain two definitions of a Jew legally, one meeting only secular standards, the other also meeting halachic standards.

F. In a similar manner as E but with more Halachic validity, maintain two standards of Jewish identity but revive the institution of Ger Toshav to serve as one of these standards of identity and then Require all Non-Native Jews to choose between Ger Tzedeq and Ger Toshav.

Your Responses (total 1)

Option A - 00% (0)
Option B - 100% (1)
Option C - 00% (0)
Option D - 00% (0)
Option E - 00% (0)
Option F - 00% (0)


Comments
Rabbi Hecht
Of course, there wasn't a large enough sample to actually draw any conclusions from the numbers (or, better, number) but this, in itself, may be significant. This is an issue that people may not really wish to think about. In the 1950's, when David Ben-Gurion sent requests from 50 Chachmei Yisrael for assistance in clarifying the definition of "Who is a Jew?", Abraham Heschel wrote that in some ways in may be better to not define than attempt to define. I have my reservations on such a policy but maybe the lack of response to this poll indicates at least a passive agreement with such a theory.