http://blogs.jta.org/ENTRY_PERMALINK_HERE/opponents-alarmed-as-israeli-conversion-bill-moves-ahead/ Opponents of a controversial bill that could give the Orthodox Rabbinate the final say over conversions in Israel are trying to keep the bill from moving ahead in the Israeli Knesset after its surprise introduction and passage by a Knesset committee. en-us jberkman@jta.org Copyright 2010 2010-07-13T;23:22:00-05:00 pjeser@acsz.org This conversion bill is OUR fault - meaning us Jews in the Diaspora. I can’t ‘prove’ it, but it is an educated guess that almost all public criticism of Israel from Diaspora Jews comes from non-traditional (meaning everyone but Orthodox) Jews. It is an educated guess that you can count the number of Rabbis on the JStreet 400 list who are Orthodox on one hand (or less). It is an educated guess that the significant majority of American Jews who make aliyah are traditional Jews. And the examples go on and on.... So, why should any leader in Israel really care about what the non-traditional community says. The non-traditional community does not have a voice nor any real clout in Israel - and deservedly so. So, those of you who are complaining about this bill (and, btw, I agree - it is a horrible bill) please understand that for the most part, no one is going to listen to you. This conversion bill is OUR fault - meaning us Jews in the Diaspora.

I can’t ‘prove’ it, but it is an educated guess that almost all public criticism of Israel from Diaspora Jews comes from non-traditional (meaning everyone but Orthodox) Jews.

It is an educated guess that you can count the number of Rabbis on the JStreet 400 list who are Orthodox on one hand (or less).

It is an educated guess that the significant majority of American Jews who make aliyah are traditional Jews.

And the examples go on and on....

So, why should any leader in Israel really care about what the non-traditional community says. The non-traditional community does not have a voice nor any real clout in Israel - and deservedly so.

So, those of you who are complaining about this bill (and, btw, I agree - it is a horrible bill) please understand that for the most part, no one is going to listen to you.

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