The Committee for Jewish Survival claimed today that it had gathered 50,000 signatures on a petition for the ouster of the three Mizrachi (National Religious Party) ministers from the Israeli government. The Orthodox group, based in this city, has been conducting a campaign against the ministers–Yosef Burg, Zerach Warhaftig and Michael Hazani–for their failure to pass an amendment to the Law of Return which would stipulate that all conversions must be in accordance with halacha–religious law.
The petition calls on the NRP Executive to replace the ministers “with people who will adhere to the rulings of the Rabbonim and to demand the immediate resignation of their ministers until the ‘Who is a Jew?’ law is amended to read ‘giyur kehalacha.'” Until then, the petition says, “Let it be known that the Mizrachi ministers do not represent even one Orthodox Jew.”
The Committee said the petition was not aimed at the Mizrachi movement but only against the three ministers, particularly Burg, who as Minister of Interior is in charge of registering the population “and is the one who registered non-Jews as Jews.” The Committee said the signatures on the petition were from Orthodox Jews “from all walks of life” and from all parts of the U.S.
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