Israel – The Immigration Police arrested the Jewish Agency Aliyah envoy to South America on Wednesday on suspicion that he provided immigration papers to 200 Venezuelan citizens despite the fact that he knew that they had undergone fraudulent conversions to Judaism.
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On Wednesday, the Ramle district court extended the remand of Ilan Architecter, 66, a well respected employee of the Jewish Agency who ran the absorption center in Ra’anana for many years.
According to police the suspect confessed to the allegations, saying that he knew the Rabbi who converted the Venezuelans was suspect.
Most of the Venezuelans were of indegenous descent who were convinced to convert by receiving promises of Aliyah benefits from the state.
The envoy told police that he wanted to be acknowledged as an excellent employee and therefore wanted to bring as many immigrants to Israel as possible. [haaretz]
Elvis Presly was halachily jewish through his mother and grandmother
Unfortunately, nothing new here. This is going on not only in Israel, but here in the US. Many of those who emigrated to the US came with the help of Jewish organizations, and just said they were Jewish to get the free tickets and stipends to help them get started in the US.
Many were/are not Jewish at all. Many had Jewish fathers, but not Jewish mothers. Many of their children are being brought up as Jewish kids, and are not aware that their maternal grandparents were not Jewish and thus they are not Jewish either.
These kids are in our Yeshivos, and making shiduchim with our kids.
That is why many responsible rabbonim will not be mesader kiddushin today without a good chakira into the lineage of both the chosson’s and the kallah’s families.
The tragedy continues even deeper. Many conversions, are not kosher. Even many done by Orthodox rabbonim are not kosher. Rov Moshe was clear in his shaylos and teshuvos, if the person who is megayer is just going through the motions, and has no real, honest intention of keeping the halachos, the giyur is null and void.
There are unfortunately, many cases where a woman was megayer to get married, told the rabbonim she would be frum, but then in private never kept the mitzvahs. Unfortunately her kids are not Jewish. Her giyur was nothing. I am not talking about one whose intention was good, but then was caught up by her Yeitzer Horah. Her giyur is good. Rather I am talking about the ones who were really never M’Kabel ol Torah.
It is VERY important today to do a thorough chakira into a person’s lineage before agreeing to be mesader kiddushin today.
I know of two cases, where the MeSader KITTIN discovered during his chakira, that the wife was not Jewish! The husbands of many years were not aware that they were married to a non-Jewish woman. One had 6 kids in Yeshiva, the other had 8! One was already married. Can you imagine the heartbreak to these kids, finding out they are not Jewish!
Maybe we need some sort of “Jewish ID Card” (smile) that we get after a very thorough investigation. But, whatever it is, we need to do something… especially be aware of this issue.
[today, especially important with Jewish Shidduch services online, popular with those beyond regular shidduch age, where people are meeting other “Yidden” from other states/towns, and do not get to know the families. You meet someone today, get a recommendation from their local rabbi, who only knows him or her for 5 or 6 years…. not their lineage.] Caveat emptor
That’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of conversions done shelo kehalocho.