The Who is a Jew conundrum that Israel continues to dodge

For Maoz, the grandchild clause was being “exploited by many who have severed all ties with the Jewish people and their traditions”. No doubt there are some who have come to Israel simply in search of a better life who are indifferent to Judaism and may even practise another religion. But there are many who happen to be patrilineal rather than matrilineal Jews who were connected to their diaspora community. And we also know in recent years of the phenomenon of people whose discovery of some Jewish ancestry has kindled an urge to belong.

Around 500,000 people are thought to have made aliyah under the grandchild provision – a sizeable slice of Israel’s population. But many of their descendants will not be officially counted as part of the Jewish people even though their actual lifestyle may not differ from that of recognised Jewish Israelis.

Maoz’s move provoked a strong reaction from those who feared it could widen divisions. Rabbi Seth Farber, founder director of the Israeli NGO Itim, which helps people navigate issues of Jewish status, said the very fact that such legislation was being actively promoted signalled “a worrying trend in Israeli politics”.

The amendment would have significantly altered Israel’s relationship with the diaspora, he said. “It would revoke the eligibility for aliyah of hundreds of thousands of individuals with Jewish heritage many of whom identify deeply with the Jewish people and have faced antisemitism for that very reason. At Itim, we believe this would send a painful message of exclusion, particularly in a time when Jewish solidarity and connection to Israel are more vital than ever.”

While similar proposals had been raised in recent years, the latest attempt was, he added, “notable both in its momentum and in its timing just after October 7, a moment that underscored the importance of a broad, inclusive Jewish identity”.

In the UK, Progressive Judaism said Maoz’s change would have “gravely undermined the inclusive spirit of the Law of Return, which, since its 1970 amendment, has allowed grandchildren of Jews and their non-Jewish spouses to immigrate as part of the global Jewish family.”

The step, it said, was “exclusionary, privileging a narrow interpretation of Jewish identity and betraying Israel’s stated commitment to welcoming the full diversity of the Jewish people worldwide, regardless of religious status”.

It called for Israel to “honour the longstanding inclusive principles of the Law of Return, which have sustained Israel as a pluralistic and welcoming homeland for Jews and Jewish families across religious and cultural lines” and “continue to embrace, rather than diminish, the deep and varied bonds of kinship that sustain Jewish identity”.

Under the status quo, patrilineal Jews who are recognised as Jewish by PJ remain eligible to emigrate under the Law of Return. But as Itim explained, “on arrival in Israel, such individuals are often not recognised as Jewish by the [official] rabbinate, which can impact their ability to marry, be buried, or fully participate in religious life without undergoing an Orthodox conversion”.

As a result of religious politics, Israel has continued to fudge the question of who is a Jew, which stems from a clash between the nationalist concept of Jewishness fostered by secular Zionism and the halachic definition.

Over the years, various solutions have been suggested to integrate these “grandchildren” into the Jewish people: by regulating the status of zera Yisrael -– “the seed of Israel” – rather than require a lengthy conversion process, for example. Or to convert their children, which some halachists believe is far easier to do than for an adult.

But nothing seems on the horizon right now. And with Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Council having a decidedly strictly Orthodox complexion, it is hard to see change emanating from the official religious organs of the state any time soon.

Meanwhile, demographics threaten to sharpen divisions between Israel and the diaspora. As Israel’s Charedi communities continue to grow, so could their electoral strength. While the swing of the religionist Zionism to the right, manifest in the rise of politicians such as Maoz, could make it harder to maintain bridges with other streams of Judaism.

The incidence of mixed-marriage will continue to have an influence on diaspora Jewry. In the USA, six out of every ten Jews who have married since 2010 have a non-Jewish partner, while the equivalent figure for the UK, one of the more conservative diaspora communities, now stands as 34 per cent – up from 24 per cent the previous decade.

Image: Trying to tighten the borders of Jewish identity: former Israeli deputy minister Avi Maoz of the nationalist religious party Noam (Flash90)