The dust will soon settle after the Democratic Party’s devastating losses in the recent US elections and as the picture comes into focus everyone will assess the damage from their own vantage point. But we the chareidi Jews of the world will remain with our own problems and particularly with the problem.
President Obama made an important statement when he said that apparently it isn’t enough just to accomplish; one also has to explain to the people what has been accomplished and how. Our askanim across the ocean would do well to adopt this as a motto for themselves. The president’s enemies and the political commentators will interpret the Democratic downfall according to their worldview. Israel too will assess whether the change is detrimental to its interests.
But on both sides of the ocean we face a bigger more existential question — that of assimilation in general and particularly the attempts to force the leaders of the Torah world to accept instant invalid conversions in particular. A compromise was reached regarding the conversion process in Eretz Yisrael whereas conversions would remain in the exclusive domain of the Chief Rabbinate and the Rabbinate would in turn agree to set up more conversion batei din — and although it was not a perfect agreement the Chief Rabbinate as well as chareidi MKs were prepared to ratify it due to the urgency of the situation. In the end the plan was shelved because of pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu by the American Reform movement. A suit for official recognition of Reform conversions now awaits a decision from Israel’s Supreme Court.
And pressure on the Rabbinate is increasing.
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