As expected, Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics has reignited one of the nation's most controversial debates: Who is a Jew?
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Dolgopyat's mother lamented to the media that the country's authorities would not allow him to wed in Israel because he is not considered Jewish according to Orthodox Judaism.
In short, he is facing a bureaucratic problem: Under Israeli law, one can only marry through religious institutions.
As Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov put it: "It makes no sense that the rabbinate of the country that Artem Dolgopyat represented would deny him a civil right as basic as getting married in Israel."
So let us clarify things: Artem Dolgopyat, despite his victory, is not a Jew under Halachah (Jewish law). He is, of course, Israeli in every sense of the word, only he is not a Jew.
It happens. This is not necessarily insulting because nothing could change this unless he undergoes conversion, but even then he would not be able to marry his girlfriend because she is not Jewish.
How can this situation be remedied? First of all, lawmakers need to legalize civil marriages in Israel so that people won't have to marry under the auspices of religious authorities. But for Razvozov and many others who protest the "unfair" situation, this would not be enough. They are adamant about him being recognized as Jewish. Otherwise, why would the Chief Rabbinate be dragged into the debate?
Another solution would be for the government to remove the ethnicity indicators from Israeli IDs and registries, or let anyone who wishes to register as Jewish to do so. In that case, however, even if the majority of the Knesset approved the law, the ultra-Orthodox and traditional Jews would not accept it. They would continue to view non-Jews as, well, not Jewish, including Dolgopyat.
There is also the possibility of reforming the conversion process, but even that would require the consent of ultra-Orthodox institutions. Why? Because without them on board, Razvozov would not achieve his goal: forcing ultra-Orthodox leaders to recognize the gymnast as a Jew. As long as that doesn't happen, Razvozov will continue to "demand justice" for the Olympic athlete.
Therefore, the entire Jewish identity debate is strange and unnecessary. The ultra-Orthodox establishment can in no way see a non-Jew as a Jew unless the person converts through a process it sees fit.
And since the minister insists on forcing the religious authorities to change their view, it makes the debate even more ridiculous. We would be better off focusing on what is important and practical by introducing civil marriage in Israel.
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