Association for the Protection of Mixed-Family Rights

GOAL
To protect the rights of people not recognized as Jews by Halacha or the State and to promote their integration into Israeli society.

BACKGROUND
The Association for the Protection of Mixed-Family Rights (APMFR) was established in 1999 by new immigrants who are members of mixed families. The organization frequently cooperates with similar organizations, such as New Family, Mossawa, the Forum for Freedom of Choice in Marriage, and others.

STRATEGIES
Providing information and legal advice, raising awareness of civil rights, supporting identity development, raising public consciousness to the issue.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The APMFR runs 5 centers – in Haifa, Karmiel, Netanya, Jerusalem, and Beer Sheva – whose volunteers assist some 1,000 families in acquiring citizenship, obtaining visas for non-Jewish spouses, marriage, and burial.
• The organization provides courses on civil status (in cooperation with ACRI).
• It sponsors social activities to help mixed families integrate into society, including: events before Jewish holidays, summer camps, professional counseling, and a club for teenagers and young adults.
• The organization runs a conversion course in cooperation with the Joint Institute for Conversion.
• The organization negotiated with the Interior Ministry to ease various restrictions, including reducing the waiting period for submitting a naturalization request from 4 years to 2, and granting the same status as their parents to children up to age 15 whose parents entered the country under the Law of Return.
• The APMFR's activities were covered by some 40 articles in the national press in Russian and Hebrew and 17 radio and television features.
• The organization operates a Russian-language Web site.