Israel's two chief rabbis have penned a letter to the government, asking it to halt the advancement of the Conversion Law that was approved on Sunday in the ministerial legislative committee.
In their letter, Chief Rabbi David Lau and Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef wrote: "We have learned that the Israeli government is about to discuss a law that will involve the establishment of local conversion centers. We cannot ignore the fact that this new law intends to make it easier to complete the conversion process ... and was crafted without the involvement of the Chief Rabbinate and contradicts our position on the issues involved."
The Chief Rabbis have dubbed the new law, "Deceiving the convert," due to the fact that, "Those who go through the new process will not be considered righteous converts by the vast majority of rabbis and religious judges. At a large conference that was held recently, in which around a thousand rabbis and religious judges participated, it was made clear that they would not recognize any conversions that were conducted without the authorization of the Chief Rabbinate.
"The government is deliberating on a law that will affect a great many citizens and will impact wider Israeli society in general," they continued. "Reaching a decision on such an importand and sensitive issue while ignoring the position of the Chief Rabbinate and of all Torah leaders will lead to a rift in the People and will lead to the establishment of separate communities within the country."
The Chief Rabbis also stressed that, "The vast majority of rabbis of the diaspora have expressed similar opinions, in opposition to the outline being proposed. The central decision, that of according authority to conduct conversions to any local rabbi who wishes to do so, without any organized set of rules crafted by the Chief Rabbinate ... constitutes a grave breach and a clear and present danger to the unity of the Jewish People.
"We are obligated to warn against taking this step, given that we bear the responsibility accorded to us by generations of Torah leaders, those who established the Chief Rabbinate ... To date, all the attempts we have made to prevent this dangerous process from proceeding have amounted to naught. All our objections have been ignored, and the few changes that have been made have been merely cosmetic and lacking all substance.
"We now call on you to halt this process and establish a joint body that will propose suggestions to address problems while preserving the unity of the Jewish People..."
Earlier on Sunday, the ministerial legislative committee authorized the Conversion Bill proposed by Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana, who expressed his satisfaction with the result. "We are making history today," Kahana said, "with this Conversion Bill that I am advancing. I wish to thank my colleagues in the coalition and also the rabbis who have cooperated with us, as well as the general public that supports this process.
"Together," Kahana continued, "we are taking a further step toward protecting the Jewish identity of the State of Israel. This state conversion law is according to Jewish law and under the auspices of the Rabbinate. We now move toward full authorization in the Knesset."
Head of the Knesset Law, Justice, & Constitution Committee, MK Gilad Kariv, added, "We welcome any process that enables a wider range of options to Orthodox conversion in Israel, especially given the extremist and obtuse behavior of the rabbinic establishment on this important issue. The Law that was authorized by the ministerial committee includes clauses that clearly protect the recognition of non-Orthodox conversions, as has been stipulated by various Supreme Court rulings on the issue of, 'Who is a Jew.'
"At some point during the legislative process," Kariv added, "we will insist that the Law does not damage this recognition, which reflects the fact that the State of Israel is the State of the entire Jewish people, including all its various streams and communities."
Kariv also noted that, "It is already the case that many hundreds of citizens and Israeli residents convert every single year in rabbinical courts belonging to the Reform and Conservative movements, and thousands of Reform and Conservative converts from the diaspora also come to live in Israel. This welcome situation will absolutely be preserved and we will work to expand it and encourage it, while also supporting a broader approach to Orthodox conversions in the State of Israel."