A leading American Orthodox rabbi said today he had proposed, in a telegram to Premier Yitzhak Rabin, that the Israel government set a five-year moratorium on acceptance and recognition by Israel of converts, regardless of the halachic status of their conversions. The only exception should be Soviet immigrants.
Rabbi Pinchas Teitz, a former member of the presidium of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, said he had offered the proposal “to promote unity, strengthen the government and quiet the discords which have been caused by the tragic issue of “Who is a Jew.'” Rabbi Teitz cited, in his telegram, precedents for his proposal during the reigns of King David and King Solomon.
For Soviet immigrants, who would be “the only exception” in the moratorium. Rabbi Teitz proposed that the Chief Rabbinate establish a special court of “qualified rabbis” to supervise conversions. He proposed that Israel’s Law of Return be amended in accordance with the moratorium proposal.
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