An agreement has been reached to put a six-month freeze on a controversial Israeli conversion bill up for a vote in the Knesset.
According to the July 22 deal brokered between Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser and several non-Orthodox religious movements, the bill will be withdrawn for six months while a coalition of non-Orthodox Israeli groups led by Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, submits proposals on how to redraft the measure, the daily newspaper Ha’aretz reported.
The bill, proposed by Knesset member David Rotem of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, passed a committee vote but still needs three Knesset readings to become law.
It has drawn significant opposition from diaspora Jewish groups, including the non-Orthodox American religious movements and the Jewish Federations of North America, as well as the Jewish Agency and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. All object to the bill’s giving ultimate authority over conversions to the Orthodox-dominated Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
“Change in the law on conversions in Israel must be carried out through broad agreement to prevent a split within the Jewish nation,” Netanyahu said. “Unity is in the foremost interest of the State of Israel and the Jewish nation, and I intend to defend that principle with determination.” — jta