Was Chief Rabbi’s Court’s criterion soundly based?
I don’t know and what I write on this subject should be considered only as a basis for discussion. Should they have taken into account only matrilineal descent? Should they reinstate the concept of patrilineal as well as matrilineal when deciding ‘Who is a Jew’? When the Court of Appeal’s judgement was announced I sent my initial thoughts to a few friends. A rabbi friend of mine replied saying that I had not mentioned that matrilineal descent reaches back to Ezra (circa 458 BCE). He also alleged that I was advocating Reform teachings. So I will first repeat, and put in quotes, what I originally wrote. I will then discuss the comments made by him. Extract from my original thoughts:- “”There are two relevant extracts found on the internet from which I quoted:- The first extract :- “Matrilineal descent, the passing down of a child’s Jewish identity via the mother, is not a biblical principle. In biblical times, many Jewish men married non-Jews, and their children’s status was determined b
