Israel’s chief rabbi proposes amending Law of Return to safeguard country’s Jewish identity November 21, 2022Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau visits the Neve Shmuel High School in Efrat on October 17, 2021. (Flash90/Gershon Ellison)(Flash90/Gershon Ellison)Israel’s chief rabbi proposes amending Law of Return to safeguard country’s Jewish identityGranting citizenship to anyone with a Jewish grandparent endangers the Jewish character of the state, said David Lau.By JNSThe Knesset should amend the Law of Return to curb non-Jewish immigration to Israel, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau of Israel urged.Lau, speaking at the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries in New York, argued against the current law under which anyone with a Jewish grandparent is eligible for automatic Israeli citizenshipAccording to halacha, Jewish law, only converts and those with a Jewish mother are Jews.“For 10 years I have been asking to try to change this mistake of the third generation in the Law of Return—to fix it, to ensure that Israel will be a Jewish state, a state of Jews,” said Lau at an event in New Jersey on Sunday night.“I have had the honor in the past year of being the emissary of the rebbe [Chabad Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson] and to continue in his great footsteps of ensuring that conversion will be done in accordance with Jewish law,” he said. AliyahChief Rabbi of IsraelDavid LauImmigration to IsraelLaw of Return
