Pro-Orthodox Israeli Bill Gets Initial OK in Knesset

The Israeli parliament on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a bill to recognize only Orthodox conversions performed here, dealing a blow to Reform and Conservative Jews hoping to win official status for their movements inside Israel.

The government-sponsored bill, which passed the first of three required readings Tuesday in the parliament, or Knesset, would formalize an existing status quo: Those who convert to Judaism inside Israel are recognized as Jews only if their conversions are performed by Orthodox rabbis. Non-Orthodox conversions outside Israel would continue to be accepted as valid.

Nonetheless, the proposed legislation was greeted with outrage and concern by Reform and Conservative leaders, who said it insults their branches of Judaism and would relegate them to a legalized second-class status in the Jewish homeland. Several have said that its passage could affect U.S. fund-raising for Israel.

Some opposition politicians also said they fear the bill could be broadened in committee--the next step before it returns to the parliament for the second and third readings--to include the even more divisive question of conversions abroad.

“The law limits itself to Reform and Conservative communities only here in Israel, but we know . . . it is a first step toward making those abroad illegitimate,” Hagai Merom, a member of parliament from the Labor Party, said during the heated debate.

The issue strikes at the heart of relations between Israel and the international Jewish community--particularly American Jews, for whom the more liberal movements represent the mainstream.

“If this bill passes a final reading, it will cause a terrible rift between Israel and the Diaspora and threaten the unity of the Jewish people,” said Conservative Rabbi Ehud Bandel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that the bill represents a change in legal terms but not in essence. A government official close to the prime minister said Netanyahu is “fiercely opposed” to any further restrictions.

Michael Eitan, the parliamentary whip for Netanyahu’s Likud Party, said the legislation will not be presented for further readings until efforts to reach a compromise have been exhausted.

But religious parties in the government coalition said they will try to push it through. “It’s not a good idea, to freeze the law before it is finished,” said Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, a member of parliament from the United Torah Judaism Party. “We want to finish with this story.”

Approved 51 to 32, with seven abstentions, the bill is the result of a months-old deal between Netanyahu and the small religious parties that agreed to join his coalition. The religious factions have 23 seats in the 120-member parliament and have threatened periodically to pull out of the coalition--bringing down the government--if the prime minister gives any ground to the Reform and Conservative movements.

The newfound political strength of the religious parties has given new force to Israel’s perennial “Who is a Jew?” debate. Under Israel’s Law of Return, anyone with Jewish ancestry may be eligible for automatic citizenship, making the issue legal as well as religious.

Reform and Conservative leaders argue that the Orthodox rabbinate, Israel’s only religious authority, should not be the sole voice of Judaism inside the country. Orthodox rabbis, in turn, say they are the guardians of Jewish tradition, and they see Reform and Conservative Jews as instruments of assimilation.

The Orthodox rabbinate does not recognize Reform and Conservative conversions here or abroad, although such conversions done elsewhere are accepted by the Interior Ministry. So, such converts may immigrate to Israel, but Orthodox rabbis will not marry or bury them in a country where there are no civil ceremonies.