The Knesset on Wednesday rejected the "Who is a Jew" bill proposed by MK Avi Maoz (Noam).
The bill sought to determine that registration as a Jew in the population records would be based only on conversion recognized by the Israeli rabbinic courts.
In the preliminary vote, 60 Knesset members voted against the bill, compared to 15 who voted in support of it, including members of the United Torah Judaism and Shas factions.
Moaz noted that the vote contradicted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's public declaration last month at an event in Kfar Chabad, when he stated: "We need to pass the 'Who is a Jew' bill." In practice, the Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionist parties did not support the vote in the plenary.
Sources in the coalition accused MK Maoz of harming the bill's chances of advancing: "Maoz proposed the bill from the opposition without a majority. This move harms the bill since it's now automatically postponed by half a year. He is trying to make political gains, but in fact, he delayed the bill."
The sources noted that the move contradicts the Chabad rabbis, "Who instructed to advance the bill only when there is the needed majority to pass it. Unfortunately, it would seem that Avi Maoz's goal is to try to undermine the coalition and harm the stability of the right-wing government."
MK Maoz responded that this was a "historic miss" and stressed that the fight for Israel's Jewish identity will continue both on the public and parliamentary stage. According to the MK, "Today we see who is prepared to stand behind their declarations about a Jewish state and who chooses to run away at the moment of truth."