L.A. Federation Leaders Voice Concern on Conversion Law in Knesset Meeting
Jay Sanderson and Richard Sandler, president and chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, were part of a delegation that met on Monday in Jerusalem with Israeli Knesset member David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), who proposed a controversial new conversion bill that has roiled Israeli politics.
Rotem’s committee was charged with finding a solution to the ultra-Orthodox hold on conversion, which has made converting in Israel a difficult and often fruitless process, and has impacted Diaspora conversions as well.
Rotem’s proposed bill would enable municipal chief rabbis to perform conversions, expanding the number of converting courts, and would limit rabbis’ ability to annul conversions. But the law also includes provisions that could threaten a convert’s citizenship eligibility under the law of return. The bill is currently held up in the Knesset law committee, which will take the matter up again after Passover.
The delegation representing Diaspora Jewry was led by Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) Chair Natan Sharansky and The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Senior Vice President Rebecca Caspi, director of JFNA’s Israel office. They delivered a letter strongly opposing the bill to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, and this week met with Rotem, along with L.A. Federation leaders and leaders from federations in St. Louis and Dallas. The delegation asked that the committee consult with representatives of Diaspora Jewry before it takes steps on conversion issues that could have far-ranging impact.
Rotem told the group that no laws would be passed before the Knesset’s Passover break, and assured the group that no future bill will affect the status of conversions outside of Israel, according to a JFNA statement.
“We have received assurances that we will be consulted in this process so that the views of world Jewry are taken into consideration,” Sharansky said after the meeting.
Sanderson, who was leading his first mission to Israel for top lay leaders, said: “We were encouraged by the frank and open discussion with MK Rotem. It is clear to us that there is a sincere will on the part of Rotem, and indeed the government, to find ways to improve the situation governing conversions in Israel, without compromising the rights and dreams of Jews of all persuasions.”
The Reform movement also expressed strong opposition to the bill, saying it would give the chief rabbinate authority over Law of Return eligibility, undoing a fragile status quo that allows non-Orthodox converts to be recognized as citizens.
“This legislation will certainly reopen one of the most divisive battles in the Jewish community. The proposed legislation will lead to a situation in which Jews-by-choice would be treated differently and denied recognition as Jews under the Law of Return, in direct contradiction of Israeli Supreme Court rulings. Additionally, it may lead to the delegitimization of all non-orthodox conversions performed outside of the State of Israel,” said a statement released by the Union for Reform Judaism.
