The Who is a Jew Issue is Raised Again in the Knesset

The religious party, Shas, succeeded Tuesday, in raising the Who is a Jew issue in the Knesset less than two months after the hotly controversial amendment to the Law of Return was overwhelmingly defeated in that body.

The amendment would add the words “according to halacha” to the definition of a Jew as a person born of a Jewish mother or converted. Its effect would be to invalidate conversions performed overseas by non-Orthodox rabbis. It was defeated on February 5 and, according to Knesset rules, may not be reintroduced for six months from that date.

Shas circumvented that restriction by placing on the agenda a new amendment that would give the Israeli rabbinical courts absolute authority to decide on the validity of conversions. This would exclude from automatic Israeli citizenship persons converted to Judaism by Reform or Conservative rabbis, which is the purpose of the original Who is a Jew amendment.

Knesset Speaker Shlomo Hillel struck the new measure from the agenda for that reason. But the Knesset House Committee overruled him Tuesday night by a 12-9 vote. Rightwing members of Likud and the opposition Tehiya Party voted with their religious colleagues to bring the new measure to the floor.

That does not mean, however, that Likud will support it in the plenum. The Who is a Jew amendment has always been defeated in the past by a combination of Likud Liberals, Laborites and other non-religious MKs. That was the case even in the administration of former Premier Menachem Begin who personally supported the amendment and assured his Orthodox coalition partners that he would see to its passage.