Conversion Plan Would Strip Control From Israel Rabbinate
Image by courtesy of seth farber
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A proposal to overhaul the conversion system in Israel would remove it from under the control of the haredi-Orthodox dominated rabbinate, sparking opposition from the chief rabbis of Israel and dozens of haredi and religious Zionist rabbis.
The final report and recommendations on conversion in Israel written former government minister Moshe Nissim was delivered on Sunday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The report recommends removing conversion from under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate and establishing a new state-run Orthodox authority.
Under the recommendations, conversions that take place in Israel must still be conducted under Orthodox Jewish law. The proposal also calls for recognition in Israel of conversions by the Conservative and Reform movements carried out in the Diaspora.
Nissim said the proposal must be implemented to prevent a “spiritual Holocaust.”
“If we do not act now, this figure will only increase. There is no other possibility but to describe it as no less than a spiritual holocaust,” he said during a news conference.
Interior Minister Arye Dery, who is the head of the Sephardi Orthodox Shas party, said he opposes the proposal and will not advance it as legislation in the Knesset.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
