British judge approves Christian conversion for 10-year-old Jewish girl
A ten-year-old child in Essex has been given permission
by a judge to convert to Christianity against her Jewish mother's wishes.
Both parents of the girl, who cannot be named, are
Jewish. But after the marriage soured, her father converted to Christianity and
his children, the girl and a younger brother, could now do the same.
He already takes them to church every other weekend,
which the mother has agreed to, but in November she applied for a court order
to prevent the father from having the girl baptised, at least until she is 16.
The court heard that the girl herself had asked to be baptised and that the
father initially doubted that she was serious.
The judge at Romford County Court has now written to the
girl giving her permission.
Judge John Platt told the child: "Your father thinks
it is right for you to be baptised as a Christian now. Your mother wants you to
wait until you are older, so they have asked me to decide for them. That is my
job."
He said he had decided that "the best thing"
for her would be to be allowed to start baptism classes as soon as they could
be arranged "and that you are baptised as a Christian as soon as your
minister feels you are ready".
But he added: "Being baptised does not mean that you
give up your Jewish heritage. That will always be part of you and I hope that
you will continue to learn more about that heritage."
The court heard a written submission from Chabad rabbi
Odom Brandman, who said the case was "extremely disturbing".
"In Judaism we don't encourage conversion either way
as it is unnatural for a person to change the religion they are born into and
which thus is ingrained in their soul in a deep way. Although conversions are
performed they must be worked at over a number of years when a real change can
realistically take place. It is unfair to any child to put them under this
pressure and to do something unnatural to their soul."
The child's grandparents said the father was forcing
their granddaughter to give up her Jewish heritage.
The judge's decision does not mean the baptism will go
ahead, but it stops the mother from preventing it via the courts.
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