The religious parties made an unscheduled attempt to bring the “Who is a Jew” amendment to the Law of Return before the Knesset for a vote yesterday. They pulled back when it became apparent the measure would be defeated — as it has been twice before in recent years.
In that event, it could not be reintroduced for six months, according to Knesset rules. The Orthodox bloc decided at the last moment to shelve the bill for the time being. Some religious MKs and lobbyists for the Lubavitch Hasidic movement angrily accused the Labor Party leadership of reneging on a promise to lift party discipline, allowing Labor MKs to vote as they pleased.
The religious parties muster only 12 votes in the Knesset but they believe they can count on religious and rightwing MKs in other parties to support the controversial measure. The amendment to the Law of Return would add the phrase “according to halacha” to the provision of the law which defines a Jew as someone born of a Jewish mother or converted.
If adopted, the amendment would bar persons converted by Conservative or Reform rabbis abroad from automatic citizenship on arrival in Israel to settle. They Conservative and Reform movements fiercely oppose the amendment, which they consider dangerously divisive.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
