Essex, England – After a contentious legal battle, a judge in the UK has ruled that a 10-year-old Jewish girl can be baptized as a Christian in keeping with her father’s wishes.
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The Telegraph reports (http://bit.ly/ONOBht) that the girl, unidentified for legal reasons, was born in late 2001 to both Jewish parents and grandparents. Her parents divorced in 2010, at which time, her father opted to convert to Christianity. Unbeknownst to anyone, last November, the girl’s mother requested a court order preventing her ex-husband from baptizing or converting their daughter into Christianity. The legal battle arose in response to the mother’s application, and the court considered the evidence presented prior to making its ruling.
The girl’s father contended that the family had never been exacting in their religious observance, and that neither his daughter nor his son was raised with strong religious convictions. The father alleged that his daughter told him she had “experienced an encounter with God” after attending an evangelical Christian festival, while the mother claimed that her ex-husband “brainwashed” their daughter and prevented her from practicing Judaism. The girl’s mother said she preferred that her daughter wait until the age of 16 before becoming baptized.
The girl’s grandparents also accused their former son-in-law of forcing their granddaughter to give up her Jewish birthright, and the family’s rabbi stated that it would be “unnatural to their soul” to compel a child to choose a different religion.
In his ruling, Judge John Platt said it was “wholly wrong” for the girl’s mother to bring this matter before the court without consulting the girl’s father or the father’s priest. He also reprimanded the girl’s mother and grandparents for failing to make “any real effort” to reflect on what was in the girl’s best interests, and said the rabbi’s comments were spoken in “inflammatory terms without any supporting evidence.”
In a personal letter to the girl, Judge Platt wrote in part, “My job is to decide simply what is best for you and I have decided that the best thing for you is that you are allowed to start your baptism classes as soon as they can be arranged and that you are baptized as a Christian as soon as your minister feels you are ready.” The judge ultimately concluded that while he could not decree that the girl be baptized, he did reject the mother’s application to prevent the baptism from occurring.
Currently, the girl and her younger brother live a week at a time with each parent according to the shared custody agreement.
It’s unfortunate that this situation exists, but the ruling is exactly what I would have expected. It’s not a secular court’s business to get involved in a religious dispute.
What a screwed up family. Poor girl.
“The girl’s father contended that the family had never been exacting in their religious observance”
No kugel, kneidlech, blintzes, latkes, haman tashen, kreplech. So what can you expect.
Oh no…. so sad.
She can be baptized 100 times. She may get wet, but will always remain Jewish.
No worrys here! The father said they never practiced judiasim, well then there’s no point baptising her as she won’t pracrice the religion anyways!!! The grass is always greener on the other side!! Innit! May we all have a wonderfull and uplifting shabbos!!!
I think the mother can win on appeal since she is a minor and both have custody .
question if she or anyone gets baptists is that person still a Jew. another word do they need to convert back if they want to return
Hashem please help this girl.
Nebich. But we need to ask another question: What alienated this girls father from Judaism? Could something have been done differently? Even a tragedy — and it is tragedy — such as this has a lesson somewhere, if only we look for it.
Wait a minute. If the girl spends every other week with her mother, then the Judge can’t stop her from performing some kind of (invented/improvised) “De-baptizing” ceremony.
True, that would leave the girl quite confused but will allow her an easier choice to make when she matures.
It’s time for the mother to become more committed to Yiddishkeit, if she wants to make a lasting positive influence on her poor daughter!
The “personal letter” from the judge is problematic. I don’t know UK law but to decide that it is best to start baptism class as soon as possible is not that same as deciding custody or parental wishes and parental rights.
Tough case: bad for all involved.
Totally not surprised at the judge’s ruling. He obviously is a descendant of yimach shemo.
what I don’t exactly get is, the judge in a personal letter to the girl wrote he cannot tell her which religion to choose, but he feels
Totally not surprised at the judge’s ruling. He obviously is a descendant of yimach shemo.
what I don’t exactly get is, the judge in a personal letter to the girl wrote, his job is to decide what’s best for the girl.
wouldn’t the best thing be to let her decide herself for now and again when an adult?
By stating she can start her
Totally not surprised at the judge’s ruling. He obviously is a descendant of yimach shemo.
what I don’t exactly get is, the judge in a personal letter to the girl wrote, his job is to decide what’s best for the girl.
wouldn’t the best thing be to let her decide herself for now and again when an adult?
By stating she can start her baptism classes, he has told her to become Christian and then denies it. ‘A goyishe Kopp!’
guaranteed, had the story been vice versa and the father would wanna raise Jewish the wife would’ve won. The courts are always pro christian.
#18
the chassidic rebbes of today are not from yesteryear. No! They don’t keep me frum. They’re A bunch o’ krap
No matter how many times she gets sprinkled or dunked she’ll still be a Jew.
And even if the judge had ruled the other way, the moment she decided she was a Christian, she was a Christian.