Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., November 20, 2009 Kislev 3, 5770 | | Israel Time: 01:29 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
MKs reject bill that would bar rabbis from annulling conversions
By Jonathan Lis

The Knesset plenum yesterday rejected a bill that would have prohibited rabbis from annulling conversions to Judaism which were granted in the past and recognized by the state.

Lawmakers present at the hearing were surprised to see the Yisrael Beiteinu faction reject the bill - drafted by MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima) - as Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's party had long promised voters it would work to rewrite conversion laws.
Advertisement

Yisrael Beiteinu representatives said yesterday that the party is pushing its own, similar proposal, one which has already passed a preliminary reading. Unlike Molla's bill, they said, their proposal has the support of both the Justice Ministry and the rabbinical establishment.

"The bill proposed by MK Molla is defective in that on the one hand it attempts to embarrass Yisrael Beiteinu, and on the other hand it doesn't even solve the problem," said one faction member. Yisrael Beiteinu's bill, he said, "would set comprehensive guidelines on conversion, both by expanding the number of converts and by setting standards for conversion."

Yesterday's plenum vote was preceded by a raucous debate in the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and and Diaspora Affairs Committee over a series of incidents in which rabbis had overturned the conversion of IDF soldiers.

MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) said at the hearing, "These are Israeli citizens, immigrants, who see themselves as Jews, want to be part of the Jewish people, enlist in the IDF and undergo conversion according to halakha [Jewish religious law]."

"Later on, Haredi rabbis, sometimes anti-Zionist ones from families who don't serve in the IDF, don't recognize their conversion due to their zealous, extremist outlook," Horowitz said, adding that those rabbis' worldviews were also evident in their approaches to education, dietary laws and relations with women.

Several rabbis who had converted IDF troops in the past were expected at the hearing, but ultimately did not attend.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Soccer field politics
Egypt recalls its ambassador to Algeria in diplomatic row sparked by soccer rivalry
Israel lobby 'exposed'
U.K. Jews claim British television 'expose' on pro-Israel lobby stokes anti-Semitism
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
23:27 Report: Abbas says Israel secretly talking with Hamas
19:57 Marwan Barghouti: Peace talks with Israel have failed
17:43 Jewish teen apprehended over Jerusalem stabbing of Arab man
21:43 Children of suspected 'starving mother' smuggled out of Israel
00:03 Mendel Kaplan, 'giant in the Jewish world,' dead at 73
21:50 Report: Global warming to have severe impact on Arab states
18:58 Palestinian internet users stuck between Fatah, Hamas and Israel
00:12 TV ROUND-UP: Suspect charged in horrific murder; Court rules: No private jails
22:21 Egypt recalls ambassador to Algeria over soccer game
17:33 World powers to debate increasing Iran nuclear sanctions
19:59 Nasrallah re-elected as Hezbollah leader for sixth term
14:15 Britain's Channel 4 exposes 'power' of pro-Israel lobby
20:31 Prosecution closes corruption case against Olmert confidant Messer
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved