The coalition is renewing its push to advance the "Who is a Jew" bill. An amendment to the Law of Return is expected to come before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation as early as next week. The move is a sensitive one, touching on one of the most explosive issues in Israel's political and social arena: the state definition of Jewish identity.
Israel's Law of Return currently stipulates that a Jew is someone who was born to a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism, and is not a member of another religion. The proposed amendment seeks to add the words "converted according to halacha" to that definition, a change that would give a clearer and narrower interpretation to the term "conversion."
According to the wording of the proposal, the term "according to halacha" is intended to clarify that the state would recognize only conversion carried out in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law, as established in the traditional sources, the Mishnah, the Talmud and halachic rulings throughout the generations.
The explanatory notes to the bill state that the move is intended to "put an end to the ongoing dispute" over conversion and establish a uniform state definition of Jewish identity that would remain "faithful to the heritage that preserved the identity of the Jewish people for thousands of years."
This is not the first time the move has been placed on the agenda. MK Avi Maoz previously tried to advance the amendment but encountered opposition within the coalition, and the initiative was blocked. Now MK Simcha Rothman, the sponsor of the proposed amendment, is working to bring it back to the table in an attempt to secure renewed support.
The bill is expected to reignite the dispute among the various streams of Judaism, as well as among political, legal and public figures, as the question of recognizing non-Orthodox conversions remains at the heart of the debate.
