Israel Bill Would Open Door to Adoption by Non-Orthodox Families
A new bill would allow non-Orthodox Israeli parents to adopt non-Jewish children.
The bill was approved Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and would amend the current Adoption Law. It must undergo a preliminary reading in the Knesset and pass two more readings before becoming official.
Under the current law, only Orthodox couples are allowed to adopt non-Jewish children, since it is understood that they will convert the child to Judaism under halachic auspices. Non-Orthodox couples must either adopt Jewish children or offer proof that they will become religiously observant, convert the child properly, and raise the child in a religiously observant home.
The bill was submitted by lawmaker Adi Kol of the centrist Yesh Atid party.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
