Netanyahu Takes Dim View Of Conversions Bill

By Michele Chabin
Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet Sunday (July 18) that he opposes a proposed bill to give Orthodox rabbis control over conversions because it could alienate Jews in North America.

"The bill could tear apart the Jewish people," Netanyahu said at his government's weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. "We will make the effort to stop the bill from reaching the Knesset," Israel's parliament.

If the bill is not shelved, Netanyahu said, he would ask members of his own Likud party, as well as other political parties, to vote against it.

Though the bill, if passed, should streamline the conversion process, it would also codify absolute power to Orthodox rabbis on conversion matters.

Controversy over the bill is threatening the stability of Netanyahu's coalition government. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the Yisrael Beiteinu party that is proposing the bill, threatened Sunday to bolt from the coalition. Doing so could bring down the government and force new elections.

Lieberman softened his tone Monday, insisting there was no crisis with Netanyahu.

Underscoring the political nature of religious issues in Israel, one of Israel's chief rabbis last week appeared to urge the Knesset's religious political parties to quit the government.

"If they heeded my advice," Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar said, "they would all stand together with one voice and one heart and say `It's the Conversion Law or we're leaving,"' he said on Kol Barama radio.

"The Reform Jews are using the political situation to blackmail the prime minister. They sit there and they want to dictate our lives," Amar said.

Netanyahu has been under intense pressure from American Jews to prevent the bill's passage, including Reform and Conservative leaders and the Jewish Federation of North America, which supports numerous Israeli public programs.

The spokeswoman of Israel's Conservative movement told The Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu's office had received 50,000 e-mails protesting the bill in recent days.

American Jews even enlisted the help of several U.S. senators, who conveyed their concerns in a letter to Israel's ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren.

Uri Regev, president of the Israeli religious freedom group Hiddush, called the amount of feedback from Diaspora Jews unprecedented, and predicted the bill might be postponed indefinitely.

Still, Regev said, if Netanyahu needs to choose between safeguarding his government or responding to American Jews, "I wouldn't bet on the bill not being passed."

Comments

[mommadona]

06:24 PM on 07/23/2010

"And you will know them by their actions and their words....."

[tompoe]

10:11 PM on 07/21/2010

Who better to ask, than possibly the worst terrorist in Jewish history. Of course he is concerned that the Jewish population might become "contaminated".

[Chazmania]

05:14 PM on 07/21/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDe65-nF3FQ

[Chazmania]

05:08 PM on 07/21/2010

Remember Christians are just disgruntled Jews and Semites are a description of a certain language speaking people that includes Arabic...The word manipulations and lies that permeate modern day events and politics has skewed things and is the symptom of core dishonesty..

[Chazmania]

05:01 PM on 07/21/2010

The Zi0ns have infiltrated all the major industrialist countries, they own the banks and the big business..And the media propaganda machines..neoconservatives are an invention of the Z!0Nists..http://polidics.com/cia/top-ranking-cia-operatives-admit-al-qaeda-is-a-complete-fabrication.html
A large amount of people in high positions in us government hold duel isr@li citizenship..even in the pentagon....
http://www.viewzone.com/dualcitizen.html

[Chazmania]

04:57 PM on 07/21/2010

PSYC0PATH!

[StopCensoringMe]

12:27 PM on 07/21/2010

How ironic it would be if it was Judaism that brings down the "defenders" of the Jewish State. Keep fighting amongst yourselves, guys. You're far less dangerous that way to the rest of the world.

[blackjack12]

07:16 PM on 07/22/2010

You wish..........................................................................

[becky11]

11:42 AM on 07/21/2010

Israel has the right to make their own laws just like we do in the U.S. The laws we make is to be for the best of our own country, same as what Israel chooses to do. The Reform and Conservative Judaism was birthed in the U.S. It was what worked for some Jews living in a Christian Nation. Israel is a Jewish Nation. Anyone from the Reform or Conservative that wants to immigrant to Israel they can, following a conversion to Orthodox. If you are not moving to Israel, you can still practice your Judaism as normal. Does someone have to be a Jew to support the land of Israel? No, many do that are not Jews. Jews in Israel refer to the U.S. as the free world. Yes we have the freedom to set up all kinds of Judaism in practice here, however we are not the state of Israel, we are Americans. If Israel thinks only one branch of Judaism is best for Israel, then it's best for them. We can stay in the U.S. if we don't like the way they decide what's best for them.

[Chazmania]

05:09 PM on 07/21/2010

Israel thinks it has the right to impose its skewed laws on every one else...That is the core of their sickness!

[Mortifyd]

08:35 PM on 07/21/2010

The laws only apply to Jews. Unless you are one - it doesn't affect you - and even then only in Israel.

[blackjack12]

07:19 PM on 07/22/2010

Your confusing Israel with the Islamic countries, the latter are the ones imposing there iron will on people, keep your perspective clear.

[Stirner]

10:08 PM on 07/20/2010

"Ultras" vs the others? Well, it is of the nature of religious belief, because it is founded upon the belief of the believer to have "righteous anger" toward the always threatening "unbeliever". Not only has religion never brought peace , it has always incited hatred. The wars in the Middle East, not only between the Judaism and Islam, but between Jewish and Jewish, and between Muslim and Muslim are the result of sincere belief on both sides. There is only "truth or error". To advocate one "side" as with Netanyahu and AIPAC is to merely make the enemy more clearly an enemy. At the moment, Israel is at war with the Muslims, but when it "wins" it will find itself in another religious war, this time with itself. It is sad, but reason has little chance to prevail in a world in which faith is accepted as the means to peace. Neither Moses, nor Mohammad, nor Jesus brought peace to humanity, only a fearful anger at the "others". Yes, it is sad.

[Zanubiyah]

08:51 PM on 07/20/2010

There is no such thing as a 'theocratic democracy'.

It will not be the Arabs, or war that bring the Israeli state to an end, In fact for now, as long as the Israelis have a common enemy, it is what holds them together.

It will be these words that destroy Israel in the end "Jewish State". Not the Palistinians, or Iran, or thier Arab neighbours.

There is no such thing as a religious, secular state...no such animal.

[bklynsparrow]

12:03 AM on 07/21/2010

And all the Muslim on Muslin violence? What is that doing for Arabs, Zanubiyah? Not much, I'm thinking.

[Zanubiyah]

12:47 AM on 07/21/2010

Bklnsparrow...

Notice the title of this article? I am writing about Israel and how I see this situation. It will not be the Arabs that bring Israel down...in fact it is the common enemy amonst the factions of Israelis that are keeping the them from fighing each other.

Actually, the really smart thing to do to cure the Palistinian/Israeli conflict is for the Palistinians to move, the Arab states to close thier borders to Israel, let the Israelis have everything they want...and wait. The problem will take care of itself in a few years.

[swordfis]

06:45 AM on 07/21/2010

"muslin?" Very funny...

[HolyKow]

04:27 PM on 07/20/2010

This is why Constitutional Big 10 #1 is so important. This is why church and god have no place in government. This is why we should respect the rights and beliefs of all over none.

Reason seems to have taken the Israeli equivalent of a siesta.

hk

[GraphicMatt]

04:49 PM on 07/20/2010

If Bibi supported this I'd agree with you. In this case though Bibi is against it and I think (and pray) that reason will triumph in this situation.

[HolyKow]

05:18 PM on 07/20/2010

I agree, the fact that I agree with Bibi makes me wanna shower. Alot.

hk

[bklynsparrow]

12:07 AM on 07/21/2010

I'm hoping too. It would be a disaster if they pass that bill. The last thing israel needs aer right wing fundamentalists calling the shots.

[TechGuy036]

04:18 PM on 07/20/2010

I don't care about how he gets there, I just hope Netanyahu makes the right decision and sticks to opposing this ridiculous bill. Why the extremist Ultra-Orthodox Jews would want to redefine 3/4 of world Jewry as no longer Jewish because they didn't convert in the "proper" fashion is beyond me, but by any measure it's one of the stupidest decisions this year that didn't involve someone from BP or the Tea Party opening their mouth.

[Mortifyd]

08:37 PM on 07/21/2010

Three quarters? That's a bit of a stretch...

[procopios]

11:53 AM on 07/20/2010

Usually, when a man says there are too many Jews in the world, he earns my contempt for his intellect and my suspicion for his motives.

[GraphicMatt]

12:34 PM on 07/20/2010

Maybe I missed it but, where exactly in this article does anyone say "there are too many Jews in the world"? This article is in regards to the Orthodox wanting to have ultimate say in people's conversion to Judaism and of those that have already converted if it was done to their standards. Basically they are saying that only Orthodox conversions can count, which would alienate thousands that have converted in other countries by non-Orthodox entities (Reform and Conservative.)

[HolyKow]

04:28 PM on 07/20/2010

That is what the Ultras are saying. They are trying to reduce the number of approved jews because they do not meet their standards. This has a pure blood VS mud-blood feel to it that is disgusting.

hk

[GuiltyByStander]

11:21 AM on 07/20/2010

I have enough trouble understanding why a national government has anything to say about religious affairs and vice versa. But why would the government of the US have anything to do with religious affairs in another country?

"American Jews even enlisted the help of several U.S. senators, who conveyed their concerns in a letter to Israel's ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren."

Separation of church and state just works. Let the Israeli government decide who is fit to visit, live, work, marry in Israel and let the rabbis figure out how they will offer spiritual guidance. And let the US senate stay out of it.

[Macready]

11:58 AM on 07/20/2010

totally agree GuiltybyStander . . .

[GraphicMatt]

11:05 AM on 07/20/2010

It's about time someone stood up to the Orthodox of Israel!!! They are so totally out of control!!!

[Macready]

11:59 AM on 07/20/2010

what . . . no this is a good thing ... it means the Us can finally free itself from the israeli albatross around its neck

[GraphicMatt]

12:38 PM on 07/20/2010

This has implications that go beyond your anti-Israel attitude though. This would have an effect on anyone that has converted to Judaism outside of Israel in a non-Orthodox setting.