Conservative Branch of Judaism to File Briefs in Israel Supreme Court to Obtain Full Religious Right

The Conservative branch of Judaism will file two briefs in Israel’s Supreme Court to obtain full rights for its rabbis to perform marriages and for their converts to be accepted under Israel’s Law of Return.

Rabbi Kassel Abelson, president of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly, told delegates at the Assembly’s 87th annual meeting that he has just returned from Israel where he learned from leaders of the Masorati Movement (Conservative Judaism in Israel) that two court cases are being prepared — one which involves a test case for the recognition of a Conservative convert from Chile and another seeking the right of Conservative rabbis to register any marriages performed in Israel.

Abelson asserted that Israel must be pressed to “fully enforce the present Law of Return, which accepts the conversion of any rabbi recognized by his community or affiliated with a major rabbinical organization.” He stressed that “we must fight vigorously for the rights of all rabbis — Conservative and Reform — and their synagogues to be fully accepted without discrimination.”

Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, executive vice president of the Assembly, said, “We should continue to press for the separation of politics and religion in Israel because history has taught us it corrupts both. At the present time the Orthodox rabbinate in Israel holds a monopoly on matters of mariage, divorce and child custody. What we need in Israel is a separation of church and state.”

TOUGH POSITION TOWARD MEMBERS OF KNESSET

A resolution before the convention takes a tough position towards any member of Israel’s Knesset voting to change the current Law of Return. Two years ago, at their annual meeting in Miami Beach, the Rabbinical Assembly voted to boycott 51 members of the Israel Parliament who at that time voted in favor of changing the legal status of Jewish converts.

The Rabbinical Assembly’s resolution now before the delegates calls for a freeze on this boycott and say:

“Any members of the Knesset who in the future will vote in such a way as to call into question the legitimacy of Conservative Judaism (Masorati), its rabbis, synagogues or converts will be regarded as having knowingly attacked the Conservative movement and will thereby render themselves unacceptable as honored guests in a Conservative synagogue or as fitting representatives of Israel at communal functions in the American Jewish community in which the participation of Conservative rabbis or laymen is expected.”

SUPPORTS FULL POLLARD SPY PROBE

Turning to the Jonathan Pollard spy case, Abelson supported a full investigation in Israel and agreed with others that the incident will not “seriously” affect Israel-American relations. “It will take time to heal the breach of trust but the breach will be healed,” he observed. At the same time, Abelson called for a study of the effect the Pollard case has had on American Jews.

“The real concern is the impact that the incident has on the image and self-image of American Jews,” he said, asking “Will American Jews begin to see Israel’s leaders indifferent to the position of American Jews? Will this begin to affect the quality of the relationship between Israel and American Jewry?”

The delegates are holding a symbolic sunset-to-sundown fast Monday as a plea to Soviet authorities to give Maria and Vladimir Slepak permission for immediate emigration.

The day of fasting by members of the Rabbinical Assembly was called in support of the Slepaks’ son, Alexander, who is holding a 17-day hunger strike, which began Friday, until the day before Passover, April 12, in Washington, D.C.