Deportation from Israel, that is. Yes, you read that correctly. Yosef Kibita is from Uganda, and is a member of the Abayudaya community, which has practiced Judaism for a century. More recently, many, including Yosef, have regularized their status by conversion under the auspices of the Conservative/Masorti Movement.   Yosef is living at Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava, and wishes to achieve the ultimate fulfillment of his Jewishness and Zionism by making Aliyah. Despite the fact that under Israeli law conversions done outside of Israel under the auspices of recognized Jewish communities (such as Conservative Judaism) are to be accepted for purposes of the Law of Return, the current government has refused to recognize Yosef's conversion. Worse, they have given him until next Thursday, June 14, to leave Israel voluntarily, or this sincere convert and Zionist will be deported. And worse yet, the government has taken the opportunity to impugn the Jewish status of the entire 2000-strong Abayudaya community, saying that they are not a "recognized Jewish community". This, notwithstanding the fact that the Jewish Agency itself has recognized them as a Diaspora Jewish community for some years.

 

There is now an urgent need for financial help so that every possible legal avenue can be pursued to prevent this deportation, and this humiliating affront not only to an entire community practicing the Judaism it loves, but to Zionism itself. The link for contributing follows. Thank you for helping:

 

 

Rabbi Gordon Tucker