More than any other issue, the question of ‘who is a Jew’ has repeatedly roiled relations between Israel and American Jewry.  

Psychologically, it is an argument over who belongs to the family. In the past, the casus belli was conversion: Would the Law of Return, which grants automatic citizenship to any Jew coming to Israel, apply to those converted to Judaism by non-Orthodox rabbis?  

Now, as Sharon’s experience indicates, the status of Jews by birth is in question.

Equally important, the dividing line is no longer between Orthodox and non-Orthodox. 

The rabbinate’s handling of the issue has placed it on one side of an ideological fissure within Orthodox Judaism itself, between those concerned with making sure no stranger enters the gates and those who fear leaving sisters and brothers outside.

How Do You Prove You're A Jew