Who is a Jew(ish Israeli)?

Once again, the question of “Who is a Jew?” has arisen in Israel – one of the most volatile and controversial since the country’s establishment back in 1948. The issue is important because of Israel’s nature as a “nation-state.” Although in modern times we tend to ignore the first of these two words and consider each country as a “state,” the fact is that centuries ago each new state (“country”) came into existence based on some ethnic commonality, whether language, religion, or historical experience. Today, in our multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic (multi-almost-everything) world (especially among liberal democracies), that ethnically “national” common denominator has been basically forgotten, with its civil “state” character becoming predominant.

From this standpoint, Israel is an outlier – for good reason. Given antisemitic attacks over the past centuries, and especially mass expulsions (not to mention the Holocaust), the need for a Jewish State became paramount – the raison d’être of Zionism. But that left open the cardinal question: who would be considered “Jewish” in order to automatically immigrate as a citizen?

Although several answers were bandied about and fought over, the two main arguments came down to this: either someone converted in Orthodox fashion or (to paradoxically use the Nazi criterion), anyone having at least one Jewish grandparent. It doesn’t take a genealogist to understand who that leaves out (e.g., those converted in Reform or Conservative fashion) and who that includes (one paternal grandfather without any maternal Jewish provenance, the standard criterion for 2000 years).

Enter (once again), MK Avi Maoz – a religious, right-wing lawmaker from the extreme Noam party – who recently put forward draft legislation that would eliminate the 1970 law’s clause offering citizenship to anyone not considered Jewish by religious law but with at least one Jewish grandparent.

There are two problems here. First, it is estimated that 500,000 people immigrated to Israel since that law’s passage, but many have no understanding or interest in anything “Jewish”; for them, Israel was/is a place of refuge – not much more than that. Second, several hundred thousands have not been granted automatic Israeli citizenship because they lack proof of Jewish lineage e.g., those from the former Soviet Union where the authorities would not privide documentation, or non-western countries such as Ethiopia, where such documents never existed.

Clearly, this is not a good situation, but it not’s easy to square the circle between “conversion hard-liners” (the Orthodox) and “conversion-light” (anyone with any semblance of “Jewish blood”). Nevertheless, there is a general solution – and it stems from the Bible, at least twice.

First, in the Book of Exodus (12:38), when the Israelites left Egypt, 80% of the escapees were the “eyrev rav”: not Israelite, but taking the momentary opportunity to escape as well (the great Torah commentator Rashi explained that they were a motley assortment of Egyptians and perhaps other foreigners). Many of them continued the trek with the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, presumably becoming part of the Israelite “nation” – without any formal conversion process. Second, and more clearly (the Five Books of Moses has no directive regarding “conversion” to Judaism) is the story of Ruth (1:16) who becomes part of the Jewish People (and King David’s great-grandmother!) merely by stating: “my nation is your nation; your God is my God.”

Note the two elements here in Ruth’s short proclamation: nationhood and religion. The first involves allegiance to a people; the second is a matter of spiritual belief. However, there’s also an unspoken aspect to both: Ruth had married Naomi’s son and therefore understood well what the Jewish nation and its religion were all about. In other words, Ruth’s short statement was not some unknowing mumbo-jumbo to join the club, but rather was based on familiarity and knowledge regarding who and what she was joining.

It is precisely this aspect that is missing from Israel’s current approach to defining a Jew. Someone who by chance was born to a Jewish (grand)parent but knows nothing about Judaism, Jewish history, Jewish religious culture, nor even about Israel and what it stands for, should not be able to be considered Jewish (and thus automatically Israeli) ipso facto by birthline. On the other hand, someone not born with any Jewish lineage but who does wish to become part of the Jewish people and a citizen of the Jewish State, should undergo some “education” for such inclusion – religious and civil within the Jewish State.

That’s far from a radical idea. For one, this is precisely what the United States demands of anyone wishing to become a naturalized citizen: they have to be at least 18 years old (to fully understand what U.S. citizenship entails); hold a Green Card for at least 5 years, or 3 years if married to a U.S. citizen (to absorb American culture: behavior, norms etc., just like Ruth); maintain continuous residence in the U.S. (no faking in-and-out); show the ability to read, write, and speak basic English (again, American “culture”); and be tested for a basic understanding of U.S. history and government (ditto, writ large). In short, even in the U.S. where religion and state are separate, one has to understand what it is to be part of the American nation.”

Such a general approach is also part of what Israel’s Orthodox demand: studying Judaism. Unfortunately, such “study” involves far more breadth and depth than most people are willing (or able) to do; it contains a very restricted perspective on what Judaism entails (far beyond what Ruth had to know); and ignores completely anything having to do with the State of Israel and its history.

The solution is for a future Israeli (non-haredi coalition) government to gather all segments of Jewish society and come up with a course of study and “final exam” that makes sense for the modern world: basic knowledge about “Judaism” as a religion, “Zionism” as a response to Jewish history, and rudimentary Hebrew proficiency. Such a process would ensure that becoming a Jewish-Israeli citizen has real meaning based – like Ruth – on an understanding of who, what, and why being part of Israel is necessary and worthwhile.