Knesset rejects measure on state-religion separation

JERUSALEM, May 6 (JTA) — The Israeli Knesset has rejected legislation calling for the separation of religion and state. The bill, among other things, would have legalized civil marriage and divorce in Israel. Most of the Labor Party faction voted against the bill, prompting sharp criticism from its sponsor, Meretz Knesset member Naomi Hazan. The legislation was defeated 46-22. During the debate preceding the vote, Hazan urged the parliamentarians to “vote with your conscience.” Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, who responded for the government, countered that the bill, rather than fostering pluralism, would only further sow division and dissent between secular and religious Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted against the bill, while Labor leader Ehud Barak was absent from the plenum during the vote. His Labor faction had decided in principle to oppose the bill, but gave members freedom to vote. Faction chairman Elie Goldschmidt, who supported the bill, attributed the Labor decision to a clause in the bill that would no longer make rabbinical authorization compulsory for marriages. Goldschmidt said that voting for the bill, which included the problematic clause, would offend religiously observant supporters of Labor. Hazan, however, accused Labor of selling out its principles to protect its political hide. Hazan said that while Labor talked a good game against religious coercion, “I asked them to actually vote, to prove that they are willing to stand behind their talk,” she told Israel Radio.