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Last update - 10:26 25/05/2009
Shas min.: Reform conversions will prompt influx of Palestinians to Israel
By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel News, Reform 

The religious parties in the Knesset are demanding that the government amend the law to make the Chief Rabbinate the only body authorized to deal with matters of conversion in Israel.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai, chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, warned that if non-Orthodox conversion is recognized in Israel, "there are hundreds of foreign workers and Palestinians who will take advantage of the Reform conversion in order to gain Israeli citizenship."

Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who heads conversions in Israel, along with Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, held an emergency meeting at their office on Sunday, attended by the religious ministers and MKs, in order to formulate a response to last week's Supreme Court ruling affecting conversion.
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In its decision, the Supreme Court ordered the state to fund conversion centers that are being run by the Reform movement in Israel.

Amar warned that the Supreme Court ruling is part of a broader effort by the court to undermine the power of the Chief Rabbinate and of Jewish orthodoxy in Israel.

"The next step of the Supreme Court will be to recognize Reform conversions," Amar said.

Currently the state does not recognize reform or conservative conversions, unless these are started with studies in recognized Reform and Conservative centers out of the country and given a final test and seal of approval from the Orthodox Rabbinate here.

At the meeting, Shas ministers Yishai, Ariel Atias and Yaakov Margi were in attendance, as was Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, MKs of United Torah Judaism and MK Uri Orbach of Habayit Hayehudi.

Minister of Religious Affairs Margi said that "the Supreme Court is forcing all those who preserve the Jewish halakha and Jewish identity into maintaining genealogical registers, which is causing friction within the nation."

The religious ministers agreed their parties will propose a bill, that Shas says was guaranteed to it by Likud as part of the coalition agreements, which will amend the law in Israel so that conversion will be defined as one of the Chief Rabbinate's official tasks.

The coalition agreement with Likud did not specify that conversion will be solely the responsibility of the Chief Rabbinate. However, the ultra-Orthodox MKs said on Sunday that they are demanding such exclusive authority.

In the past Rabbinical courts dealt with conversions but because of the Haredi opposition to the matter, the government of Ariel Sharon decided to set up special courts for conversion. These Orthodox courts were headed until last year by Rabbi Haim Druckman.

However, because of claims by the ultra-Orthodox that conversions handled by these courts were not being carried out according to halakha, a crisis erupted which was also deliberated by the Supreme court.

Orbach said that, "Conversions must be done only according to halakha. There is debate over the appropriate halakhic approach to conversions, and I have my practical differences with the ultra-Orthodox, but I agree with them in the principle stances that Reform conversions are not conversions. As far as the law is concerned, I believe, as I do in other matters, that the Supreme Court is intervening in many issues where it should not intervene."

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      1.   Well It Solves The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict... 04:44  |  Yosemite 25/05/09
      2.   Existential Racism! 05:12  |  Le Corbeau 25/05/09
      3.   Sit together with Reform rabbis and TALK IT OVER ! 05:34  |  Fortuna Benmayor 25/05/09
      4.   Orthodox Insanity 05:47  |  Agnostidox 25/05/09
      5.   please, explain 06:49  |  Ariel 25/05/09
      6.   For Ariel # 4, who asks. 07:32  |  Fortuna Benmayor 25/05/09
      7.   what rubbish 07:36  |  SJ 25/05/09
      8.   A Clueless Reform Movement 07:51  |  David Reinharz 25/05/09
      9.   Orthodox Only but RABBINATE ONLY is disastrous! 08:06  |  Yitzchak mba 25/05/09
      10.   The prince of darkness attacks again. 09:05  |  Zwygart 25/05/09
      11.   Orthodox, yes. But can you imagine Abdul or Mohamed converting? 09:22  |  Mark Leaman 25/05/09
      12.   KING DAVID WAS NOT JEWISH 09:23  |  Alka Seltzer 25/05/09
      13.   non-Orthodox Jews are traitors, heathen, goyem 09:26  |  Orthodox 25/05/09
      14.   Palestinian conversion 09:37  |  Yosef 25/05/09
      15.   Name one Palestinian wanting to convert to Judaism. 09:41  |  Fortuna Benmayor 25/05/09
      16.   Proof of racism 09:47  |  Enlightened 25/05/09
      17.   An fatally flawed argument from Yishai 09:50  |  Johnboy 25/05/09
      18.   That`s why it won`t work 10:55  |  Student 25/05/09
      19.   Reform conversions are not reliable 11:50  |  Baruch Gold 25/05/09
      20.   johnboy and his convoluted argument 12:09  |  harzion 25/05/09
      21.   Concur completely with SJ`s #6 title: WHAT RUBBISH... 12:14  |  Esther 25/05/09
      22.   those who want to convert in good faith 12:15  |  harzion 25/05/09
      23.   #3 Fortuna Benmayor 12:24  |  Jim 25/05/09
      24.   Who can or cannot be a Jew 12:27  |  Uri 25/05/09
      25.   of course they won`t accept Palestinians 12:36  |  Jonathan 25/05/09
      26.   Conversion is Conversion 13:42  |  Daniel 25/05/09
      27.   converts 13:46  |  Jan 25/05/09
      28.   Bravo Jan..... 14:09  |  Abecassis 25/05/09
      29.   # 12 Alka Seltzer 15:05  |  Joseph.E 25/05/09
      30.   # 12 Alka Seltzer 17:04  |  Joseph.E 25/05/09
      31.   Cheaters do not graduate! 20:45  |  Shmuel ben Gedaliah 25/05/09
      32.   Variations on an old theme ! 21:04  |  David 25/05/09
      33.   not a single Muslim converted so far in Revisionist sinegogue... 21:25  |  Miron 25/05/09
      34.   10 million more Jews 10:08  |  Jon from Eurola 26/05/09
      35.   Shows perfectly how stupid religion is 19:04  |  Tcherkessi 26/05/09
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