Barbara Kay: The fanatics inside Judaism
July 27, 2010 – 6:34 pm
“Strange times to be a Jew.” That’s the master theme, voiced early and demonstrated often, in a haunting 2007 novel about Jewish messianism, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.
Michael Chabon’s darkly brilliant achievement in alternate history sprang to mind last week, when news broke that if Israel’s extreme right wing ultra-Orthodox — the Haredim, who control the Chief Rabbinate — have their way, who is or isn’t a Jew will be far more narrowly circumscribed than ever before in Israel’s history.
The Knesset has approved a draft bill that would permit the Haredim to dictate the criteria for legal Jewish status. They would then hold the power to exclude thousands of Jewish converts, even many converted by orthodox rabbis, from eligibility for Israeli citizenship under the “law of return” accorded all Jews as an inherent right. Read More
Michael Chabon’s darkly brilliant achievement in alternate history sprang to mind last week, when news broke that if Israel’s extreme right wing ultra-Orthodox — the Haredim, who control the Chief Rabbinate — have their way, who is or isn’t a Jew will be far more narrowly circumscribed than ever before in Israel’s history.
The Knesset has approved a draft bill that would permit the Haredim to dictate the criteria for legal Jewish status. They would then hold the power to exclude thousands of Jewish converts, even many converted by orthodox rabbis, from eligibility for Israeli citizenship under the “law of return” accorded all Jews as an inherent right. Read More
Posted in: Full Comment, Social Issues, World Politics Tags: Israel, Judaism, Messianic Jews, Third Temple, Haredim, Orthodox Jews
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