Dear (consul general),

We, the undersigned, bring to your attention the Ministry of Interior’s rejection of the Aliyah application of Yosef Kibita, a member of the Abayudaya Jewish community of Uganda. The Ministry has challenged the validity of his three conversions, all conducted under the auspices of the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative/Masorti Movement.

The Ministry’s refusal to recognize the conversions that Yosef has undergone and those of other Abayudaya community members, precludes any of its 2,000 members from making Aliyah, from participating in Taglit-Birthright or Masa programs, and from receiving a visa to study at Jewish institutions of higher learning.

The many American Jews who read Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post, the English-language edition of Haaretz, Forward, the Jewish Week and local Anglo-Jewish newspapers and bulletins are aware of Yosef’s situation. They are concerned about and angered by the possibility that this Lover of Zion will lose his court hearing and not be allowed to become an Israeli citizen.

This pattern of rejection is disturbing. It indicates a conscious disregard of provisions of the Law of Return and of Israel’s Supreme Court decisions validating conversions performed by recognized Jewish denominations inside and outside Israel for purposes of Aliyah.

We hope these decisions against Yosef Kibita and others will be reversed, the doors of Israel will open wide to Jews of Choice, and the Israel-Diaspora relationship strengthened.

We ask that you deliver this message through the appropriate channels to Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, to the Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai, and to the governing coalition. The matter is particularly urgent, as Yosef Kibita's appe will be heard in the Israeli courts on March 21, 2022.

While Ministers and MK’s are appropriately barred from interfering in judicial matters, if responsive to the sensitivities of the Diaspora, the Interior Ministry could review the Kibita case before the court hearing, thereby rendering it unnecessary.

Respectfully,