Convert's nightmarish three-year quest for citizenship continues

• Date: 06 December 2020
• Author: JEREMY SHARON
• Published date: 06 December 2020
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Despite being a committed member of his synagogue, a taxpayer, husband, father and social justice activist, David Ben Moshe has experienced intense difficulties in his everyday life due to his inability to gain citizenship – and continues to face rejection by the State of Israel.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday, Ben Moshe lamented that the Jewish principle of tshuva, repairing one's life, does not appear to have foundation in the Jewish state.

David Ben Moshe, 33, was born and grew up in Maryland in the US, and eventually fell in with Baltimore's notorious drug gangs, leading to an eventual conviction and jail sentence on drug and firearms charges.

He was sentenced to prison in 2010 for 30 months. While serving his sentence, he was stuck in the prison library during a security lockdown and noticed someone studying a book in a script he did not recognize or understand. It was a Jewish religious text.

After expressing an interest in the text, he embarked on a process of growing affinity with Judaism – so much so that his very first call after being released from prison on parole in 2012 was to his local synagogue.

He finally converted in 2017 through Rabbi Eitan Minsk of the Orthodox Beit Israel synagogue, and came to Israel in July for a nine-week study trip at the Pardes institute, during which time he met the woman who would eventually become his wife.

Ben Moshe has worked as a personal trainer for nine years. He obtained a degree in exercise science from Towson University in 2017, graduating with a 4.0 grade average.

He received a Masa grant to come to Israel and won a social justice fellowship from Pardes. While in Israel, he has been involved in social justice activities, including providing exercise training for special needs children.

In August 2018, he married through the rabbinate and his marriage is formally registered in the Interior Ministry. He participates every day in prayer services, has been an active member of his synagogues, first in Beit Zayit and then in Motza, and is a much loved and respected member of his community, as testified to by four rabbis with whom he is close and who have written letters to the Interior Ministry on his behalf.

But despite all these achievements and milestones, the State of Israel continues to deny Ben Moshe the right to citizenship, something which has hurt him and his wife deeply on an emotional level, caused heavy financial burdens, and made everyday life extremely difficult.

He originally applied...