Editing Mihu Yehudi (section)

== Setting Interior Ministry Guidelines ==
In 1958, controversy over "Who is a Jew" first arose when Interior Minister Israel Bar-Yehuda instructed to register anyone who declares they are Jewish as "Jewish." This caused an uproar and the National Religious Party decided to leave the coalition as a result. Then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, seeing the necessity to resolve this question, turned to fifty "Sages of Israel" - whom he defined as such according to his own view - to express their opinion regarding the definition of Jewish identity in the State of Israel. Out of 59 who were asked, 46 responded, and the vast majority - 37 respondents, including those far from observing mitzvos - proposed supporting the halachic definition.
[[File:פניית רה מ בן גוריון אל חכמי ישראל.jpg|thumb|Ben-Gurion’s letter to the 50 ‘Sages of Israel,’ among whom was the Rebbe.]]
Among those asked was the Rebbe, who answered in part:

"My opinion is absolutely clear, in accordance with Torah and tradition accepted for generations, that in such matters a verbal declaration about wanting to be registered as Jewish has no validity, and this declaration has no power to change reality.

According to Torah and the tradition of generations that exists and lives until today - a Jew, or - in different style but equal content - belongs to the nation of Israel, is only one who was born to a Jewish mother or a convert who converted in a precise manner of conversion, whose details of conversion procedure are explained in the books of halachic rulings of our nation Israel from generation to generation until the Shulchan Aruch..."

In a letter to the London rabbis, who were among those asked, the Rebbe wrote that the question should be answered and not ignored. In a letter to Zalman Shazar, who was close to both the Rebbe and Ben-Gurion, the Rebbe asked to inquire what Ben-Gurion's response was to the matters.

Following the responses, Interior Ministry regulations established the procedure to register as Jewish "one who was born to a Jewish mother and is not a member of another religion, or one who converted according to halacha."