There is an old yiddish expression that “if one asks a question, the answer is ‘treif’ – i.e. ‘forbidden.’” That is all too often the case with regard to the way the rabbinical courts in Israel deal with questions of Jewish identity and conversion.
In 2010 the Israeli Chief Rabbinate decided to require documents proving the Jewishness of one’s mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and greatgreat- grandmother when applying for marriage. Needless to say this is a near impossibility for most people. Is this really Jewish law?
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