I know the name of this thread makes no sense... But this is an article about who is a Jew and who isn't. The bulk of the article is a raving against Christian mission efforts to convert Jews. But there is one spot where there is a dig against Degree mills - especially the ones used by Christians to give them credentials to convert Jews... http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=1082 clint
Lunatic ravings. The Israeli Supreme Court, in the Matter of Brother Daniel, settled once and for all that no Jew who adopts Christianity is a Jew for the Law of Return. Period. Now, the writer's purpose seems to me to be more subtle. The idea is that legitimate conversions OF ISRAELIS by non-orthodox rabbis should not be recognized for the purpose of registration. Well, this is altogether a different issue, isn't it? Yet the author seems to be trying to create a sense of emergency or panic or something in order to convince us that ONLY conversions by a select group of rabbis are legitimate. Nonsense. This idea flys in the face of Jewish history, let alone modern political reality. The VAST majority of the world's Jews, including Israelis, are not orthodox in practice and this for good reason. The question isn't really "Who is a Jew?" The question is, "Who is a rabbi?" which, translated, means, "Who has the power of the franchise?" Ben Gurion proposed my favorite definition of a Jew: -He calls himself a Jew -His Jewish neighbors call him a Jew -His non-Jewish neighbors call him a Jew -He shares the fate of the Jewish people Nosborne
