Meet the soft-spoken US-born rabbi challenging Israels religious establishment

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By fighting for the rights of converts and others, American-Israeli Rabbi Seth Farber, the founder of ITIM, has become a thorn in the side of Israel's religious establishment. Photo courtesy of ITIM

By Michele Chabin | 3 hours ago

JERUSALEM (RNS) When Israel’s Chief Rabbinate told an American immigrant she could not get married in Israel because her overseas Orthodox conversion to Judaism wasn’t “kosher,” she turned to a soft-spoken but determined U.S.-born reformer named Seth Farber.

“I called the rabbi who converted me in New York and he told me to hang up the phone and call Rabbi Farber, because he helps converts deal with the rabbinical courts in Israel,” said Nicole Hillel, the convert.

Farber, a Modern Orthodox rabbi, is the founder of ITIM, an organization that helps converts and others navigate the religious establishment’s legendary bureaucracy through activism and legal action.

The rabbinate is notorious for stalling and sometimes overturning recognition of a person’s Jewish status. That status is a prerequisite for anyone who wants to marry as a Jew, be buried in a Jewish cemetery or, in many cases, become a citizen.

http://religionnews.com/2016/11/30/meet-the-soft-spoken-us-born-rabbi-challenging-israels-religious-establishment/