From: davidba@carmel.technion.ac.il (David Ben_Ami)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast,misc.headlines
Subject: Re: Israel and Palestinians
Date: 12 Aug 92 19:21:04 GMT
Organization: Technion, Israel Inst. of Technology

In article <EGGERTJ.92Aug10082859@moses.atc.ll.mit.edu> eggertj@atc.ll.mit.edu writes:
>In article <1992Aug10.105304.2840@discus.technion.ac.il> davidba@carmel.technion.ac.il (David Ben_Ami) writes:
>>   In article <EGGERTJ.92Aug7103958@moses.atc.ll.mit.edu> eggertj@atc.ll.mit.edu writes:
>>   >In article <1992Aug6.221743.26363@midway.uchicago.edu> rivk@quads.uchicago.edu (nora gayle rivkis) writes:
>>   >>   If someone simply begins to believe and practice a non-Jewish
>>   >>   religion in Israel, he won't get worse than looked at funny and
>>   >>   his citizenship will not be affected in any way. If someone gives
>>   >>   up formally his membership in the Jewish Nation, he loses Law of
>>   >>   Return privileges -- in exactly the same way that someone who
>>   >>   formally gives up membership in the United States by renouncing
>>   >>   citizenship will find themselves restricted in a lot of unpleasant
>>   >>   fashions if they continue to try to live here. Voluntarily giving
>>   >>   up the status of 'part of nation X' is a universal concept, and it
>>   >>   has nothing to do with religion.
>>   >
>>   >I was under the impression that if a non-Israeli Jew begins converts
>>   >to Christianity, a religious change, then he/she loses rights under
>>   >the Israeli Law of Return.  Thus the legal definition of 'part of
>>   >the Jewish Nation' certainly does have something to do with religion.
>>
>>   You are under a wrong impression. Can you prove this? I never heard of
>>   a Israeli who lost his citzenship when converting to other religion.
>>   He would surely run to Bagaz and the press would raise hell if it was
>>   done.
>
>David, please reread.  I wrote of a non-Israeli Jew, you respond about
>an Israeli.  The two are obviously different.  The rights to Israeli
>citizenship under the Law of Return do seem to depend on your religion.

Oh, but the Law of Return makes any Jew a Israeli citzen with all rights
(including voting although he may hradly know the politics involved as
occured in the last elections) in a very short period (48 hours or something
in that range). if you mean that he changes his religion and then wants
to make Aliya , he might have problems. for if he is not prosecuted than
his change of religion signifies his rebuttal of Jewish tradition and his 
Aliya is quite conspicious. 

I remember a case with a priest Father Daniel that had this problem.
I think that he will not have the benefits of this law, but he will be
treated as a christian coming to this country with a naturalization
period etc. (I guess these are less rough then US laws).

>=Jim  eggertj@atc.ll.mit.edu (Jim Eggert)

David.

-- 
=============================================================================
  David Ben-Ami (irc: bigdav)      |   "I can resist anything but Temptation"
  s2780369@Techst02.Technion.Ac.Il |       Oscar Wilde
  davidba@Carmel.Technion.Ac.Il  davidba@Moav.Techniona.Ac.Il
Organization: Masters student, Information Networking Institute, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA