For those who were asking about my being an adopted Jew

[rjamz]

And my conversion process. I mentioned that there are some issues coming out of the Israeli rabbinate recently about converted children.

This article takes it one step further: now there are issues about children conceived through IVF with donor eggs from a non-Jew. The whole thing has my blood boiling. For me, I gestated and was born from a non-Jewish woman's womb, therefore, I had to be converted. In these cases, the Jewish mother carries and births the child. In my opinion, the child should not have to be converted. I'm really angry about this

NYTimes: What Makes a Jewish Mother
nyti.ms/18NKDkb

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[TrudyCampbell]

I think this is absolutely uncalled for and ridiculous!

ETA that article made me tear up a little. It's so sad and unnecessary.

[bebeetmoi]

My opinion doesnt matter much because I am not only not Jewish but an Agnostic, but that's all just so crazy IMO. My sister is beginning to research the whole converting process since her soon-to-be fiancé is Jewish, and that's one thing. But this is just way too much. 

[rjamz]

I can't even think straight about this. How dare these men make the parents of an IVF baby feel less like their parents?? I'm feeling sick over this.



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[rjamz]

Not only that, they're now counseling against IVF! The rabbi they quoted works at the law school I went to, I know him and he's not a right wing cuckoo!

I feel like I need to do something. Give the rabbinate a severe talking to on what it means to be a mother. Write letters. I don't know

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[TrudyCampbell]

This is semi unrelated but isn't it amazing how things change the entire trajectory of our lives?

If you hadn't been put up for adoption you would likely not have become Jewish, which is such a huge part of your life, and you wouldn't have married your husband and had Jamie etc etc etc. It's really all so amazing!

[claralou]

This makes me so angry. I have a hard enough time with the Jewish law as it currently stands, but this is really unbelievable. My heart breaks for these women who really need their community support. It's like a slap in the face for them. I hope that local Jewish communities can somehow work around this (like the article mentioned in California).

rjamz - help me understand something. If I understand this correctly, the Reform synagogues likely won't "accept" this as law, correct?

[bebeetmoi]

Jun 5, 2013 8:27:05 GMT -5 rjamz said:

Not only that, they're now counseling against IVF! The rabbi they quoted works at the law school I went to, I know him and he's not a right wing cuckoo!

I feel like I need to do something. Give the rabbinate a severe talking to on what it means to be a mother. Write letters. I don't know

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I think you absolutely should. Not only would it be well worded and eloquent, but your story will give it life and a perspective they may not have even considered.

[helicase]

Jun 5, 2013 8:27:05 GMT -5 rjamz said:

Not only that, they're now counseling against IVF! The rabbi they quoted works at the law school I went to, I know him and he's not a right wing cuckoo!

I feel like I need to do something. Give the rabbinate a severe talking to on what it means to be a mother. Write letters. I don't know

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I think this is a great idea.  You have an unique insight on the matter. 

[rjamz]

Jun 5, 2013 8:33:32 GMT -5 claralou said:

This makes me so angry. I have a hard enough time with the Jewish law as it currently stands, but this is really unbelievable. My heart breaks for these women who really need their community support. It's like a slap in the face for them. I hope that local Jewish communities can somehow work around this (like the article mentioned in California).

rjamz - help me understand something. If I understand this correctly, the Reform synagogues likely won't "accept" this as law, correct?

Correct. It will likely only be Orthodox ones. The biggest issue is over whether these children ever want to exercise their Right of Return. Israeli law states that any Jew who wants to be a citizen can be. However, for converts, they had to have gone through an Orthodox conversion to exercise this right (for example, my brother is an Israeli citizen and served in their Navy for 3 years. He had to prove he had a valid conversion)

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