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Interior Ministry says it doesn’t recognize Uganda’s Abayudaya community as Jews
Members of Uganda’s Abayudaya Jewish community outside a synagogue in Nabagoye. (Courtesy of Be'chol Lashon)
The Interior Ministry has told the High Court of Justice that Uganda’s Abayudaya community, which practices Judaism and was recognized as Jewish by the Jewish Agency in 2016, are nevertheless ineligible to come to Israel under the Law of Return, the Haaretz daily reports.
The Law of Return enables any Jew and any person who has a Jewish parent or grandparent to make aliyah — move to Israel and become a citizen.
If Israel’s High Court of Justice endorses that opinion, in response to a petition filed by an Abayudaya member whose immigration request was refused, it could impact the legal status of similar Jewish-affiliated communities around the world.
