Aj Congress Leaders Warn Nrp Demand on Who is a Jew Poses Major Threat to Jewish Unity

American Jewish Congress leaders warned here that the National Religious Party’s demand for halachic conversion posed a major threat to Jewish unity around the world and to large scale immigration from America. Mrs. Naomi Levine, Executive Director of the AJ Congress, said at a panel discussion on “Who Decides Who Is A Jew” held at the Bar Ilan University, that the NRP demand can serve only to weaken Jewish unity at a time when it is sorely needed.

It is based, she asserted, not on halachic requirements but on what appears to be the effort of the Orthodox rabbinate to obtain a monopoly on conversions. Four American Orthodox members of the university faculty, Arnold Anker, dean of the Bar Ilan Law School, and professors Charles Leibman, Howard Lewine and Daniel Elazar differed with Mrs. Levine, stressing the danger for Jewish integrity in “free for all” conversions.