Top national religious rabbi: The High Court can’t turn ‘goyim’ into Jews

A top national religious rabbi joins the chorus of right-wing, religious voices against the High Court of Justice’s ruling legitimizing non-Orthodox conversions carried out in Israel.

“No High Court decision can turn a goy into a Jew,” says Rabbi Druckman, saying that would be akin to a person seeking the court’s help after the doctoral degree he received from the bus drivers’ union was rejected. “There are matters that the High Court cannot settle.”

While he lambasted the decision, Druckman acknowledged that the Knesset had avoided legislating on the matter for a decade and a half, even after a special committee was formed to come up with a compromise plan.

“What did the state think and what did the government with Haredi representatives think? That the High Court would not eventually decide? Could this decision not have been foreseen? If the state does not decide, the High Court will decide,” Druckman laments.

He calls for the passing of controversial legislation that would allow the Knesset to override the High Court ruling, which critics say would lead to an imbalance of power between the government’s branches.