Bibi Extends Moratorium on Civil Conversion Bill
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to extend a freeze on the advancement of a controversial civil conversion bill that was proposed by the Yisrael Beiteinu party last year.
In exchange for the extended moratorium, the Reform and Conservative movements agreed to hold off on their petitions to the High Court of Justice on the conversion issue.
A preliminary reading of the civil conversion bill passed in the Knesset last summer, prompting a storm of protest by Jewish communities around the world. The outcry led Netanyahu to agree to the first moratorium.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
