Israel’s current ‘Law of Return’ not only excludes Messianic Jews; It would exclude Abraham!
Messianic Jews should not be excluded from making Aliyah just because they can’t (truthfully) say they have converted to Judaism. News Flash to the Minister of the Interior and all members of the Knesset: ABRAHAM DID NOT PRACTICE JUDAISM! The promise that God made to Abraham concerning the land, which would become Israel, was given on the basis of his ethnicity and had nothing to do with religion. God told Abram, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are standing, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever” (Genesis 13:14-15). This promise was given 430 years before the birth of Judaism through the laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Sure, Abraham followed many moral principles that would later be contained in the law, but it was by his obedience to God’s voice through faith, not the works of the law (Genesis 15:6, Galatians 3:6).
1950
The original Law of Return, passed on July 5, 1950, had it right. It simply stated, “Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh (Jewish immigrant to Israel). Abraham would have been pleased with that.
1958
In 1958 the question, “Who is a Jew?,” came to the forefront. Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, sent a letter to 51 Jewish rabbis, scholars, and secular Zionists asking for their opinions on this already controversial question. His main concern was for the children of mixed marriages. Ben-Gurion, one of the most revered founding fathers of modern Israel, reminded them in his letter that according to the law, “In Israel, there is no discrimination on the basis of religion.” This quote is by the same “Ben-Gurion” for whom the international airport is named—the airport where every immigrant making Aliyah by air enters the country.
Ben-Gurion had a personal interest, as his own son, Amos, had married a non-Jewish Christian, Mary Callow—who had been his nurse in a British hospital. Amos’ mother, Paula, strongly objected to the marriage and warned him in a wire to not come back home “with a non-Jewish wife unless she had converted to Judaism.” The irony was that Paula—an American Jew, who had great difficulty in adapting to Israeli culture—was openly at odds with the rabbinic law in Israel. When she was reportedly asked by an American journalist if she kept kosher at home, her reply was “I buy kosher food in the market, but make it treyf (non-kosher) at home.” So, perhaps there was some hypocrisy in her objection to the marriage and suggests it was mostly for outward appearance. They came to a compromise by bypassing the Israeli rabbinic authorities, and Mary was promptly “signed off” by a rabbi in England so they could have a Jewish wedding.
One of the more prominent individuals, who responded to Ben-Gurion’s letter, was Haim Cohn, who had co-authored the Law of Return. Cohn argued that “the meaning of ‘Jew’ in Knesset legislation is not identical to its meaning in religious law.”
Hijacked by the Ultra-Orthodox
It seems that this original belief of the framers of modern Israel—and from the Torah itself—has been hijacked by the ultra-Orthodox, which only makes up about 14% of the population. Oh, and by the way, these “sticklers” for the Law of Moses are the same Jews who refuse to serve in the IDF—contrary to the Law of Moses. In Numbers 1:2-3, we read that the Lord spoke to Moses that required all males at least 20 years-old to serve in the army. Even the Levites—who were consecrated to serve in the Tabernacle/Temple—had to go to war when needed, as in the case of the war against the Midianites (Numbers 31:3-4).
Today, Israel is a very small country surrounded by its enemies. Everyone is needed in the military, including the women. The ultra-Orthodox are not just skipping out on their military obligation, contrary to Torah. They are also just fine with the women going in their place, contrary to Torah. They apparently think upholding the Torah is like picking and choosing from a buffet. They want the roasted lamb, falafel, and marble halva but not those awful Brussels sprouts!
1962
In 1962, in the case of Rufeisen, the Supreme Court ruled that a Jewish Catholic monk could not make Aliyah after his conversion to Christianity. The decision denied an ethnic Jew and Holocaust survivor—who was born and raised as a Jew—the right to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. The high court got that decision dead-wrong, and it served as a precedent for subsequent cases. Precedents should never be considered sacred because the justices sometimes get them wrong. Case in point: the Dred Scott case (1857) in the United States. The Supreme Court ruled 7 ̶ 2 that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. That was one of the worst court decisions in history, and yet it set a precedent for decades to come.
1970
In 1970 came Amendment No. 2 5730-1970. It states in section 4B: “For the purposes of this Law, ‘Jew’ means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion.” Circling back to my original point, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob (later “Israel,” the very namesake of the country) could not legally immigrate into Israel under today’s guideline of “converted to Judaism.” They would probably ask the Aliyah agent, “What’s Judaism?” God said nothing about that when He promised them the land.
It would be understandable to prohibit some religions—like Islam—that are diametrically opposed to Judaism and even secular life in Israel. Muslims will not and cannot assimilate, but that scenario is virtually non-existent anyway. Christianity, on the other hand, is a religion that is uniquely built upon the bedrock of Judaism. Christians believe the Old Testament (Tanakh) is God’s Holy Word and that it perfectly fits together with the New Testament, like hand-in-glove.
My ‘Gone With the Wind’ Experience
When I was 8 or 9 years old, I walked out of the movie, Gone With the Wind, at Intermission. I had never been to a movie just shy of four hours. So, when Scarlett O’Hara returned to find Tara in ruins and famously said, “With God as my witness, I’ll never be hungry again,” the curtains closed, the lights came on, and I walked out of the theater.
I now relate that experience to Jewish people who embrace only the Tanakh. What I did see was amazing! It had superb acting, storyline, cinematography, costumes, along with exceptional visual and sound effects (for 1961), but there was something not quite right about the ending. We Messianic Jews believe that’s because there’s a Part 2 to the story. Now, you can agree or disagree that the story needs a Part 2. But anyone who actually studies the New Testament has to come to the conclusion that it is a Part 2 (whether you think it’s necessary or not). The point being, Christianity and Judaism are not only compatible; they are interwoven together by types and shadows, prophecies (foretold and fulfilled), and redundancy of truths. So why would they deny a person of this belief to make Aliyah to Israel?
Furthermore, Christianity has brought incalculable blessings to Israel. Roughly 60% of all tourists to the country are Christians. Financial support to humanitarian aid organizations in Israel contributed by Christians is as high as 90%. And there are hundreds of Messianic Jews serving in the IDF. Thus, they are happy to take Messianic Jews’ money and let them fight in their military but won’t grant them citizenship.
But aside from all that, I reiterate that if the “father of the Jewish faith,” Abraham, could not get into the country under Israel’s current system, they might want to rethink their policy. They do not have the right to impede the promise that God Himself made to Abraham.
Nolan Lewallen is a retired pilot of a major airline and lives near Stephenville, Texas, with his wife, Kim. Together, they have seven grown children and four grandchildren. Nolan’s two greatest passions are the Bible and politics. His book, The Integration of Church & State: How We Transform “In God We Trust” From Motto to Reality, brings the two together. His latest book is Yeshua is Still the King of the Jews.
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