The Rabbinate botei din are about to launch a unique
advertising campaign to encourage new immigrants from the
former Soviet Union who have reached marriage age to open a
file at the nearest Rabbinate beis din to verify their
Jewish status as soon as possible regardless of their
immediate marriage plans. The move is based on concerns that
relatives will no longer be among the living to give
testimony for the next generation.
Posted in Russian, the notices read, "Even if you are not
planning to marry in the near future it is worth your while
to contact the Rabbinate court closest to your home to open a
file to verify your Jewish status so that when the time comes
to register for marriage you will not have to wait for the
verification process to be completed."
The posters call for all new immigrants lacking certificates
regarding their Jewish origins and who have reached the age
of marriage but have not registered for marriage to open a
file while documentation and testimony of adult relatives is
still available.
When a new immigrant comes to the Rabbinate to verify his or
her Jewish status the Department for the Verification of
Jewish Status uses a range of tools at its disposal,
including inquiries, document checking and database
searches.
New immigrants are asked to arrive at the beis din
with their ID card, birth certificate, family pictures and
any documents they possess to certify their Jewish status.
The beis din recommends they make an appointment and
arrive with their mother and maternal grandmother. There is a
legally set fee for opening a file.
Vaad Haolami LeInyonei Giyur, founded by HaRav Chaim
Kreiswirth, the late gavad of Antwerp, welcomed the
initiative.
