Jews baptized as adults have no right of return

This is for Israeli civil law. For Jewish Law, they and their kids stay Jews. Beware of the liars, lies, and half-truths.

More and more Israeli Jews seek to amend the Law of Return because more and more people who settle here based on that law are not Jewish at all or not for Orthodox Jewish Law, threatening the Jewish majority.

Yet, there’s also a counter drive wanting Christian Jews to settle here.

History

The 1950 criterion was based on the Nazi persecution. So, any child of any Jew should be able to enter.

On top of that, one would not want to break up families, so Gentiles married into them were welcome too. At least they liked Jews, no?

Yet, in 1962, the Israel High Court rules that Jews baptized as adults fall outside of the Law of Return. This, despite Nazis targeting them too. (Different from Antisemitic Muslims who see Muslim Jews as Muslims.) This is for Israeli civil law. For Jewish Law, they and their kids stay Jews.

In 1989, the same humanistic court reaffirmed that “Messianic Jews” (Christians who see Baptism as the perfection of Judaism) are excluded.

Obviously, it was felt that if you distanced yourself so much from Judaism, you shouldn’t be a citizen of the Jewish State by default. This, different from Atheist Jews. Humanism, Atheism, and Agnosticism are very Jewish.

In 1970, another amendment was added, the so-called grandfather clause allowing anyone with a Jewish grandparent to make Aliyah, even if they’re not Jewish for Orthodox Jewish Law, proving that religion isn’t the issue.

Anti-Jewish Tricks

There are a couple of principles Jews should learn by heart:

1. All Anti-Jews ideas, including to baptize them, are founded on lies.

2. Anti-Zionism is part of Antisemitism, and it reasons that all Nations deserve a State but the Jews. Often it also holds that what’s wrong in many countries (sexism, capitalism) in Israel ‘proves’ that it’s evil.

3. So, Antisemitism is not an opinion or sentiment. It’s a set of lies.

4. An important trick in deceiving the innocent about Judaism, Jews, and Israel is to pick a very specific cut-off date to warp the picture.

Some examples of the last point.

Anti-Zionists speak scandal about roadblocks, omitting that they were put in place to prevent further terrorist action.

Israel ‘occupied’ territory in 1966. Rather, in a war it didn’t want, it liberated lands Jordan illegally invaded and occupied in 1948.

No More Missionaries!

So, we shouldn’t be surprised when Christians with Jewish roots conceal their own conversions and ignore the 1962 and 1982 High Court rulings, and demand the State of Israel should be true to its 1948 commitment to gather in all Jews. Which Jews? [Trigger alert:] “Blood Jews.” In their own crooked sentence it goes like this: “With the blood of Abraham Isaac and Jacob in their veins we the undersigned support the right of any natural born Jew … regardless of their personal beliefs ….” I understand “any natural [sic] born Jew” from those believing in one ‘unnaturally born’ Jew.

No, Jews are not a race. We are a Nation, the only one with a Calling. And we don’t seek more Christians masquerading as Jews. We have enough of them already. (Needless to say: I have nothing against honest Christians.) And we surely don’t need here believers in the Nazi idea of Jewish blood.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1