MK Matan Kahane (Yamina) has sharply criticized a statement by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) indicating that he will advance a proposal to ensure that only conversions conducted under the auspices of the State of Israel are recognized.
"What Deri's statement means is that we'll reach a total stalemate on the issue of conversions," Kahane said. "What he means is that the outline developed by Moshe Nissim - supported by some of the great rabbis of the Religious Zionist movement (such as Rabbi Haim Drukman, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Rabbi Zefania Drori, Rabbi Eliezer Valdman, Rabbi Isser Kalonski, and Rabbi Aryeh Stern) - is to be canceled.
"The State of Israel needs a state conversion law but it needs a law that provides a solution for the hundreds and thousands of Israeli citizens who want to become Jews, not a law that slams a door in their faces," he added. "The person who is stringent regarding conversion ends up encouraging assimilation."