NEW YORK (VINnews) — Eliya Haliwa, who married a member of a Syrian Jewish family in Brooklyn last October, was exposed immediately after the wedding as a Shiite Muslim from Lebanon. The revelation led to a huge controversy and calls for more stringent investigation of people’s Jewish lineage before allowing them to wed. Haliwa himself was forced to leave his new wife and even though he wished to convert to Judaism, the Syrian Jewish community maintains a longstanding ban on accepting Jewish converts.
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However on Zev Brenner’s Talkline show it was revealed by Rabbi Avrohom Reich of the Hatzalas Yisrael community of Brooklyn that Haliwa is actually Jewish and has undergone a conversion L’chumra (to be extra stringent). Rabbi Reich is an expert on tracking and investigating the lineage of Jews from the FSR (Former Soviet Republic) and says that he spoke with the mother of Haliwa, who admitted that both she and her mother are Jewish.
Rabbi Reich spoke with the grandmother in Lebanon and said that he was a member of a Beis Din which performed the conversion L’chumra for Chaliwa and stressed that he is now a Jew “L’Mehadrin”. According to B’Chadrei, the Beis Din which performed the conversion is recognized by Israel’s chief rabbinate.
Rabbi Reich said that the reason for performing the conversion L’Chumra was because there were four consecutive generations which did not keep mitzvos and therefore a conversion was required. Hawila himself said that the reason he had not revealed his Jewish roots earlier was because he did not know about them and only found out after the fiasco of his marriage with a Jewish girl.
Haliwa intends to go back to his wife now that he has been converted L’chumra, even though he is under pressure from members of the Syrian Jewish community to give his wife a get. After the revelation of his roots in November, Haliwa said that “I just want another chance, I want to rectify things, I wanted to be Jewish irrespective of the girl I married.” According to the new information received, Haliwa is indeed Jewish and was already Jewish when he married.
I am not an expert but, uhm, isn’t trust necessary in a marriage? It sounds like irrespective of the religion issue, this guy lies like a rug.
Is this an April Fool’s joke?
How are we suppose to believe his mother and grandmother that they are Jewish?
In next weeks episode…
He still lied about his career etc
Maybe the (former) wife’s opinion about her future needs to be considered? Now that his Jewishness has been “proven” does this mean she lost her rights to be a human being and live a decent life with a decent man?
This dude is a creep.
Waiting for Zev Brenner to interview the grandmother.
Still considered a מקח טעות because if she would have known that was his lineage when she was under the chuppah she never would have gotten married to knowing the issues she would have in the sy community, and still doesn’t change the fact that he thought he wasn’t Jewish when he got married, so he didn’t marry her על פי ההלכה at all, just my opinion from my knowledge on the subject, but I’m no rabbi so idk
I know Rabbi Reich personally and I believe him 100% regarding Haliwa’s Jewish background. Now the question is, will his ex-wife forgive his initial deception and take him back? Trust is very hard to win back once it’s seriously broken such as this case.
Story was probably cooked up between this goy and his mother. He studied in Yehsivas long enough to know how to cook this.
This guy just made a fool of Rabbi Reich.
“Rabbi Reich is an expert on tracking and investigating the lineage of Jews from the FSR (Former Soviet Republic) and says that he spoke with the mother of Haliwa, who admitted that both she and her mother are Jewish.
Rabbi Reich spoke with the grandmother in Lebanon”
Lebanon is not FSU!
If you believe this I think I have a bridge for sale…..
How bout Rabbi Riech provide some evidence for a suspecting public
If the family doesn’t believe that he’s Jewish , why do they want or need a get ?
Good luck and mazel tov
This is not an issue for an “expert” Rabbi to pasken. Needs to be brought before the Gedolei Hapskim to decide.
Now they can sell the movie rights, retire and live happily ever after.
This is great news! Now we can finally put him in cherem!
Fake news !
fake Jews !
I’ve been saying for years now that we Ashkenazim desperately need the same wise takonah Syrians adopted.
This matters because if he was actually Jewish and doesn’t give a get, she’s an agunah
Here’s a case where we *cannot* believe the witnesses. Moslems are allowed to lie to non-moslems. The mother and grandmother are likely lying for the man.
I hope the young woman finds her basher very soon.
While yad lachim is raising 100K for her, we hear he’s really Jewish and going back to her. This sounds like a concerted hoax. Like the couple that raised 100k for a homeless guy after he supposedly paid for their gas. All three ended up in jail.
I heard now that the rabbi who married them isn’t jewish.
Will he now be going back to his wife?
I find it amazing how some frum Jews instead of being baishanim, rachmanim and gomlei chasadim and humbly apologizing to him instead are doubling down on the hate and bigotry
I bet if the Syrian community took DNA tests they would come out 90% Syrian DNA. Which is Great, but if you yourself descend from converts why prevent others from having the same opportunities that your grandparents were given.
Mazal tov to him! His mesirat nefesh and true yearning towards torah and mitzvot is more than most of us would ever admit about ourselves. Baruch pokeach ivrim.
Whether he is succesful in reconnecting with his wife or not- i wish him only the best on his path to find the truth of torah and hashem.
Sounds suspicious. How is it Syrian jews ignore an kuriggt mitzva in tge Torah to love the ger
Wow wow wow the lord works in mysterious ways the boy always said he was Jewish
The foundation of Judaism was Avraham avinu who went to great lengths to open his tent so that all people would know their Creator. With all due respect to this Syrian community their facial features resemble and look like the average Syrian, meaning at some point in history there was a large influx of Syrian converts who became full fledged Jews. Now fast forward a couple hundred years and now these Jews dont want to accept other potential Jews. Seems selfish and most probably has to do with not wanting to share their wealth with others. What is most bothersome however is that these Syrian jews are proud of this fact that they dont accept converts.
oy
What’s the difference Mother Grandmother, if he is a good-hearted person, why demean him?
The Germans were always busy with, who was the Grandmother, who was the great grandmother. That’s how they used to grade a person.