The religious parties agreed Wednesday to postpone a Knesset vote on the controversial Who is a Jew amendment to the Law of Return after a headcount indicated they lacked the vote to pass it.
Premier Yitzhak Shamir, who said he supports the measure in principle, suggested that its sponsors wait a few weeks. The Labor Party served notice it would vote en bloc against the amendment which would invalidate conversions by non-Orthodox rabbis.
When a bill is defeated in the Knesset, six months must pass before it can be re-introduced. The Who is a Jew amendment has been consistently defeated over the years.
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.
