Religion: Who's a Jew?

When is a Jew not a Jew? When he is in Israel, if he belongs to a sect of which the Chief Rabbi disapproves. And being considered a non-Jew in Israel can be awkward, especially if one falls in love. Mixed marriages are illegal—no rabbi may marry a Jew to a non-Jew—and civil marriage (and divorce) does not exist. The result is a storm of resentment between Israel's secular and religious Jews, which is currently whistling around the ears of silver-thatched Acting Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim.

Indian Jews. Last week Indian-born Avshalom Dhatavkar, 24, and...