Jewish-born adoptee granted temporary residency

Steger, who is from California, was delighted by the decision, even though it did not give him full citizenship.

By RUTH EGLASH
El Al 224.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
El Al 224.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
The Interior Ministry announced Monday that it was willing to grant temporary resident status to a US citizen of Jewish descent who was adopted by a non-Jewish family as a baby and has been attempting to make aliya for the past year-and-a-half, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Ya'akov Granot, the newly-appointed director of the Population Registry, said he would allow Timothy Nicholas Steger, 37, to take on temporary residency status as a first step towards legal standing in the country. Granot's decision came following an article in the Post published Friday that highlighted the shortcomings of the Law of Return for not addressing the rare category of Jewish-born children who are adopted by those of other faiths. "Granot realized that we have to deal with this issue," commented Sabene Hadad, spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry. "This is only a first step, but it will allow him all the benefits and rights that most citizens have such as health insurance and work permits." Steger, who is from California, was delighted by the decision, even though it did not give him full citizenship. "This sounds really exciting and I am very grateful," he told the Post. "This will definitely help me in my quest to make aliya. I am quite anxious to stay here and start building a permanent life for myself." Steger, whose birth father was Jewish, was adopted as a baby by a devoutly Catholic family with anti-Semitic leanings. However, after growing up in LA, he joined the anti-neo-Nazi movement and worked closely with the Anti-Defamation League. Last August, the Interior Ministry turned Steger down for aliya claiming that his connection with his biological parents had been severed the moment that he was adopted. Steger then appealed the decision on the basis that the Law of Return grants anyone with at least one Jewish parent or grandparent the right to immigrate.