Senior rabbis from the religious Zionist stream convened Thursday in Jerusalem's Bayit Vegan neighborhood to discuss a slew of Knesset bills that they say “nibble away at the state of Israel's Jewish character.”
Participants included Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba-Hevron, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of Samaria, Rabbi Ariel Bareli, Rabbi Dror Aryeh and others.
Rabbi Bareli, who co-organized the event, said that the Conversion Bill “is intended to allow religious judges [dayanim] to accept converts who do not take upon themselves the burden of mitzvot.” Rabbi Shahor added that “the war on the state's Jewish character has changed its form; not just harm to tracts of land in the Land of Israel, but damage to the religious underpinnngs of this state.
"It is not difficult to identify that anti-religious and anti-Zionist bodies are behind the attack,”he added.
Rabbi Dror Aryeh said that the laws have the support – at least partially – of “good people” in the Knesset. “Therefore, we should use all means, including the right to file a veto against the law.”
Rabbi Elyakim Levanon opined that “a party that is able to pass the Conversion Law has no right to exist, and if the Law passes, the Jewish Home will have to leave the government.”