Civil Marriage, The Law of Return and One Woman’s Aliyah Story

Going into this past summer, I thought that making aliyah, though not necessarily quick, was a relatively streamlined process that only involved filling out several forms and a few meetings with aliyah officials. However, over the course of my summer internship at ITIM, a Jerusalem based Jewish life advocacy center, I learned that for some, the process is not as clear-cut.

About 30 years ago, a non-religious Jewish woman in Canada entered into a civil marriage with a non-religious Muslim man; their civil marriage certificate was signed by a Catholic priest. Since then, she divorced and became an active, religious member of her Orthodox Jewish community. She also obtained a letter attesting to her Jewish identity from her rabbi that was approved by the Chief Israeli Rabbinate. But when she applied to make aliyah in January 2025 through the Law of Return, which grants Israeli citizenship rights to all Jews, the Israeli Ministry of the Interior denied her application. 

To be clear: At no point was this woman a member of any other religion. Why would the Law of Return not apply to her? 

The Israeli Ministry of the Interior’s decision to deny citizenship to this woman was influenced by a prior case in Israel’s legal history. In 1958, “Brother Daniel” — a born Jew named Oswald Rufeisen who had converted to Catholicism during World War II and become a Carmelite friar — sought to become an Israeli citizen under the Law of Return. His request was denied, not on the grounds of challenging his halachic status as a Jew, but on the basis of him actively practicing another religion. This ruling altered the qualifications for the Law of Return.

In Israel, there is no separation of church and state, and any marriage that takes place in the country must have an affiliation with a religion. In the eyes of the Ministry of the Interior, a marriage certificate signed by a Catholic priest implies that the husband and wife are practicing Christians, and by extension, cannot qualify for aliyah under the Law of Return, as in the case of Brother Daniel.

This is where ITIM enters the picture. ITIM was created by Rabbi Seth Farber (RIETS ‘91) in 2002. ITIM’s mission is to “create a religious establishment in Israel that is respectful and responsive to the Jewish needs of the Jewish people,” Farber told The Commentator. “We [ITIM] help more than 7,500 families each year navigate the religious establishment, but our ultimate goal is to create systemic change that will enable more people to live full Jewish lives in Israel.” 

In this case, that means ITIM had to convince the Ministry of the Interior that they should allow this woman to make aliyah based on both halachic and civil legal rules. 

As part of the YU internship program this summer, I worked with ITIM and contributed to their efforts to earn Israeli citizenship for this woman. The goal of my research was to show that a civil marriage in the U.S. and Canada has no bearing on a person’s religion or religious practice, regardless of the religion of the people being married or the religion of the person conducting the marriage. This information would hopefully persuade the Ministry of the Interior to welcome the woman into Israel under the Law of Return and potentially serve as a precedent to ease the path for others in similar situations.

Though the specific case involved a woman from Canada, I researched law codes in other Jewish population centers in North America. Ultimately, I found that most localities do not even offer an option to record one’s religion on the marriage license, demonstrating clearly that a civil marriage certificate from the U.S. and Canada does not attest to a person’s religion or religious practice. 

About a month ago, the Ministry of the Interior approved the woman’s application to make aliyah through the Law of Return. Though I never could have predicted it, I was gratified to learn that my research contributed to a government agency reconsidering its policies. And even more so, though I never met the now olah chadasha (new immigrant), I felt honored to be a part of her aliyah story. 

Photo Caption: From left to right: Adir Abramowitz, Azriel Berkley-Dahl and Jenny Brenner

Photo Credit: Adir Abramowitz