The Law of Return was enacted by our nation’s founding fathers to ensure efficient and trouble-free immigration to Israel, so that the State of Israel will become the eternal homeland for the Jewish people. However, the question of who is a Jew for the purpose of the Law of Return raises complicated issues that have continued to be at the heart of the legal and political discourse in Israel for the past sixty years. When this question has been applied to immigration cases of Evangelical believers who are descendants of Jews, Messianic Jews and families of mixed marriages, it has created legal and bureaucratic hurdles which are seemingly insurmountable. The Jerusalem Institute of Justice has helped many families navigate these precarious waters during the first four years since its inception, and successfully immigrate to Israel.
Because of ignorance and misinformation which has been disseminated by radical marginal groups in the Israeli society, a phenomenon has developed whereby governmental bodies and employers have treated citizens with discrimination because of their religious affiliation. They have unfortunately failed to treat the local Judeo-Christian community with equality and justice based on standards which the state set for itself in its Declaration of Independence and various international conventions, to which it has become an official party.
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice has stepped in to handle such cases, ranging from preventing illegal refusal to grant zoning approvals necessary for properties to be used as houses of worship, preventing illegal termination of labor contracts, ensuring that the local police duly investigate crimes against places of worship and prosecute perpetrators of violence towards persons and properties belonging to the local Judeo-Christian community.
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice has taken it upon itself to help educate the local Judeo-Christian Community as to its legal and political rights. Through its annual “Know Your Rights Seminars”, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice educates current and future leaders of the Israeli Judeo-Christian community regarding crucial rights of individuals and congregations, and helps members of the community navigate difficult issues such as freely practicing one’s faith, while being careful not to transgress the anti-proselytizing laws in Israel.
Our “Know Your Rights Seminar 2007” dealt with four basic legal rights: (1) the right of Judeo-Christian Minorities to immigrate to Israel; and (2) the right of local Judeo-Christian organizations to attain the status of “Public Institution”, thus granting them significant tax benefits including the right for donors to receive a 35% tax refund on donations throughout each fiscal year; and (3) the right to receive exemptions from municipal property taxes which would otherwise have been applied to facilities serving the local Judeo-Christian community; and (4) the right to openly live out one’s faith in Israel, while safely navigating the anti-proselytizing laws.
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