The Committee for Jewish Survival has accused Israel’s Minister for Religious Affairs. Yitzhak Rafael, of paying "hush money" to religious groups in Israel to mute their demands that the "Who is a Jew" issue be resolved according to halacha.
Michael Davidson, a spokesman for the group which claims world-wide membership, cited Israeli newspaper reports alleging that Raphael is "distributing incredibly large sums of money to yeshivos. Kolelim (adult schools) and religious organizations normally aligned with Agudas Israel, with the anticipation that they reciprocate by honoring him appropriately by muting their normally outspoken opposition to the peril of the ‘Who is a Jew?’ matter."
Davidson also attacked "those on the left adhering to secular socialist ideology" in Israel for "trying to circumvent the authority of Torah while Dr. Yitzhak Rafael of Mizrachi in classic ‘boss Tweed’ style seeks to retain his Mizrachi colleagues in a state of benign neglect with the assertion that political vested privileges, positions and interests should not be disturbed." The Committee for Jewish Survival charged that the "Who is a Jew" issue allows "counterfeit ‘Jews’ to be admitted to Israel and receive all the financial and legal privileges of Israeli citizenship."
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
