February 19, 2008 / 13 Adar I 5768

Dear Friends,

On Wednesday, February 6, 2008, the Ministerial Committee on Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora, headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, convened to discuss the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to examine the overall organizational structure of the Conversion Administration and pooling of resources in the area of conversion in Israel.

Following the publication of the meeting's protocol, I am delighted to inform you that the Ministerial Committee has decided to adopt most of the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, headed by Mr. Erez Halfon, Director General of the Ministry of Absorption. These are the main areas:

Conversion in Israel is according to Jewish Halacha and the Conversion Administration will be guided by the Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.

The Conversion Administration will be defined as an independent unit in the Prime Minister's Office and will handle all issues of conversion in a new organizational structure, and will be responsible for the special courts for conversion, training of those who study for conversion in the Institute for Jewish Studies and in associations that deal with conversion, supervision of the studying process as well as accompanying those who wish to convert, hasbara, publicity and recruitment, conversions in the IDF, applications and so forth.

The Head of the Conversion Administration will operate and direct all the systems that deal with the converts, starting with the curriculum in the different frameworks through the policies in the special courts for conversion. He will serve as the Halachic authority, under the leadership and guidance of the Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar.

The Conversion Administration in its new format will begin to operate no later then four months after this decision and it is required to present, within 45 days of its establishment, a detailed work plan, including a budget, for the years 2009-2011, according to the budget approved by the Ministerial Committee.

The Ministerial Committee on Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora will recommend to the Government to change its name to the Ministerial Committee on Aliyah, Absorption, Diaspora and Conversion. In addition, a steering committee will be established to deal with supervision and oversight in the area of conversion and it will closely follow up implementation of this governmental decision and the activity of the conversion administration in the next four years. The steering committee will convene three times a year and will be composed of representatives of the following offices: Prime Minister, Immigrant Absorption, Finance, Education, Interior, Justice, Defense (IDF) and the Jewish Agency and will continuously report to the Ministerial Committee on progress in the Conversion process.

One of the main issues in which the Halfon Committee dealt was expanding the number of rabbinical judges in the special courts for conversion and the appointment of volunteer rabbis, according to the proposal of Prof. Yaacov Neeman, Member of the Jewish Agency Executive. It was determined that the State will immediately locate 10 rabbinical judges for 10 approved positions of rabbinical judges in the special rabbinical courts. Additional positions will be examined and approved as required.

It has been resolved that the issue of additional positions will be examined by the Attorney General, after hearing all concerned parties, and the issue will be brought for discussion in the upcoming meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert emphasized, in this context, the importance of Prof. Neeman's attitude and proposal and guided the responsible bodies to find a way to promote the issue.

As for the issue of the Institute for Jewish Studies, it was decided that the budget for maintaining contact with the Institute, as well as with other organizations for conversion studies, will be under the responsibility of the Office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the Institute that unites all Jewish streams around one table as a unique executive Governmental arm in the area of conversion.

These important decisions, and mainly the decisive position of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, are good news for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Already at the opening of the meeting, the Prime Minster said that this is a non-acceptable reality, in which in Israel there are some 350,000 non Jewish citizens, who choose to connect their destiny with the Jewish people's destiny and the tools and possibilities to connect them to have them as part of the Jewish people were not created.

During the meeting the Prime Minister emphasized the commitment of the State of Israel as well as his own personal commitment for this move, and informed that he will personally follow-up the progress through the Secretary of the Government that has been appointed by him to handle the issue, as well as through the Ministerial Committee on Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora.

Further, the Prime Minister noted the important contribution of the Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar for promoting the conversion issue and thanked him for his leadership and service in the area.

We, at the Jewish Agency, which has brought more than a million olim to Israel since the beginning of the 90's, most of them from the Former Soviet Union, see ourselves committed to the absorption, integration in the Israeli society and connecting to the people of Israel some 350,000 people who are eligible for Aliyah, who came to Israel and are not halachicaly Jewish.

I welcome these decisions and I would like to congratulate Mr. Erez Halfon, Director General of the Ministry of Absorption, for his excellent work as Chairman of the committee, which we believe will finally bring the longed for breakthrough.

During the upcoming meeting of the Unity of the Jewish People Committee that will take place during the Board of Governors meetings at the end of the month, the Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Mr. Yaakov Edri, is invited to present the Government decisions and we will discuss them with all members of the Committee.