The Law of Return Marks Its 70th Anniversary

On July 5, 1950, the Israeli Knesset enacted the Law of Return, codifying the centuries-old aspiration of the Jewish people to return to the Land of Israel and defining the legal right to repatriate to Israel.

The Text of the Law of Return

According to the Hebrew calendar, this date coincided with the Memorial Day (the anniversary of the death) of Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism. The legislative intent clearly aimed to imbue this law with symbolic resonance and historical depth.

For a nation that survived the tragedy of the Holocaust, this moment remains pivotal: Israel serves as a secure sanctuary for those fleeing resurgent antisemitism in their countries of residence.

As a cornerstone of Israeli legislation, the Law has generated significant debate regarding who is legally defined as a Jew. Should the State of Israel strictly adhere to the Halakhic definition, which identifies a Jew as someone born to a Jewish mother or who has converted to Judaism? Or should Jewish identity be extended to anyone who self-identifies as such? 

In 1962, Oswald Rufeisen, born Shmuel Aaron, arrived in Israel. While his Jewish heritage was unquestioned, he was nevertheless denied Israeli citizenship. What was the underlying cause?

Shmuel Oswald Rufeisen

The issue arose from his wartime experiences. While evading the Nazi regime during World War II, Rufeisen sought refuge in a monastery, converted to Catholicism of his own free will, and became Brother Daniel. After the war, he returned to Poland, pursued theological studies, and was ordained as a Carmelite monk. 

Oswald Rufeisen's life was remarkably extraordinary and largely tragic. Although his parents perished in death camps, he managed to escape from Poland to Belarus. Concealing his Jewish origin, Oswald secured employment as a translator for the police in the occupied Belorussian town of Mir. 

Rufeisen established contact with the local Jewish population and succeeded in saving hundreds of individuals imprisoned in the local ghetto. Having warned them of a planned liquidation, he assisted them in obtaining arms and organizing an escape. The history of this escape from the Mir Ghetto is documented in a film exhibited at Yad Vashem in Israel.

In 1942, Rufeisen was compromised and arrested. Evading imminent execution, he fled and found sanctuary at the Convent of the Resurrection Sisters, initiating Brother Daniel's lifelong journey within Christianity. His biography served as the basis for Lyudmila Ulitskaya's novel "Daniel Stein, Interpreter" (2006).

In reviewing Brother Daniel's petition for Israeli citizenship, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that, given the secular nature of the Law of Return, the concept of a "Jew" should not be interpreted in a strictly Halakhic sense—under which Brother Daniel would technically still be considered Jewish.

The Supreme Court deemed it appropriate to rely on the subjective consensus of the majority, thereby defining a Jew as someone recognized as such by the community. Consequently, the Supreme Court ruled that the Law of Return does not apply to Jews who have voluntarily converted to another faith.

Rufeisen's appeal was subsequently dismissed; he was advised to reside in Israel and obtain citizenship through naturalization, a path he ultimately pursued.

Rufeisen at the Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery during the annual memorial service for the Jewish community of Mir

In 1970, the Knesset adopted an amendment to the Law of Return, establishing that a Jew is defined as anyone born to a Jewish mother who has not converted to another religion, as well as any person who has converted to Judaism. The amendment further stipulates that the non-Jewish spouse, children, and grandchildren of a Jew are entitled to civil status, enjoying equal rights and benefits alongside other repatriates. 

To this day, the Law of Return remains a subject of ongoing debate, while simultaneously serving as a symbol and instrument of global Jewish unity. Any individual who is part of the Jewish people is a potential citizen of Israel, with the Law of Return guaranteeing their right to repatriation.