Mepa???

I don't have an answer to your question. However, I would like to share the following thoughts. I am Jewish myself, my family went through Holocaust. Virtually all Jews of European descent have family members who have perished in Holocaust. We Jews are an ethic group, not just a religion. Our culture, which is the foundation of modern civilization, is thousands a years old. Throughout history we have been persecuted, tortured, raped, burnt, converted to other faiths via force/bribes/threat etc. The Catholic church, which has a long history of persecuting Jews, recognized the existence of the state of Israel only recently and a historic reconciliation happened. I am deeply concerned about Jewish children who are in non-Jewish foster homes. Our culture, traditions, and values need to be respected and passed on to our future generations. Every Jewish child should have the right to be raised in his/her faith. Assuming you are Christian - how would you feel about a Christian child placed in a Muslim home and being raised as Muslim? Here in American this is guaranteed not to happen but just think about it for a minute. Here in Texas, the vast majority of agencies who get children from foster care system are Christian based and will not work with prospective Jewish foster parents. However, these same agencies get Jewish children in their care!!! Again - think about this for a minute. Is this not disturbing to you? To me, it is. The situation of Jewish children is similar to Native Americans but, unlike them who are protected via the ICWA act, our rights are not protected. Legislation similar to the ICWA act is needed to acknowledge and protect our rights to conserving our ancient culture. The MEPA act actually says that if no same-race (or in this case culture) placement can be found, placement will not be delayed. My advice to you is this: If these children stay with you, start getting involved in Jewish activities and start reading about our culture and history. You might discover that you actually like it and make our traditions parts of your life. If you think about it, Jesus was a traditional Jew, too. I have adopted a boy of Cambodian descent. His biological family practiced a form of Buddhism which is very close to Hinduism. I gave him a Buddhist name and started to learn and get involved with Buddhism and Hinduism. I felt it was morally not right to deny my son of his birth faith that this ancestors have practiced for millenia. I knew nothing about Eastern religions before I adopted him and I discovered a whole new interesting world! He will go to two Sunday schools: A Jewish one and a Hindu one. At home, we practice both traditions. There in no contradiction - and why should there be?! I chose to have a dual faith home. I greatly respect and love my son's birth faith and I made it part of my life, too. I respect whatever he chooses for his future, either choice is fine with me. The same model might just work for you, too.

I understand that there is a difference between Jewish traditions and Christian traditions. We aren't going into this situation lightly. We are willing to incorporate both traditions into our lifestyle. While there isn't a Temple in our area we are willing to drive to get to one. We certainly don't expect the children to drop their beliefs and traditions. I would think that being brought up by loving parents who want you would be better than staying in foster care waiting for a family that shares your beliefs. :)

... and that is exactly what the MEPA act says: Placement shall NOT be delayed if same race/culture parents are not found. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, it is tremendously sad for me personally when I hear about Jewish children raised in a Christian home. There has to be another way. One thing is of course to recruit more Jewish foster/adopt families. I do not like the idea of adoption of Jewish children by Christian parents. Hopefully, legislation analogous to the ICWA act will be in place to better protect our children. Going or not going to a temple is not the main thing. The main thing is to have a Jewish home and practice Jewish values. I rarely go a temple myself. However, my home is a Jewish home, we eat kosher, on Friday nights we have the traditional bread/wine ceremony, we celebrate the Jewish holidays etc. If it makes you feel comfortable - our home has the same traditions that Jesus had, too. I feel confused from your posts about your willingness to continue the Jewish tradition for these kids ("The kids don't practice the Jewish faith", "We certainly don't expect the children to drop their beliefs and traditions"). Hmmm. To promise to drive to the temple is not enough. You MUST have Jewish friends so that your children can see Jewish role models. FYI, this is what is required from e.g. white parents adopting black children. It is only fair that they require it in your case. I will PM you my e-mail address and my phone number. I am happily willing to serve as mentor on Judaism for your children to help them cultivate and preserve their true roots. Please contact me any time.