Law of Return Amendment Would Limit Aliya to Halachic Jews

A proposed amendment to Israel’s Law of Return has revived a long-running debate over who has the authority to determine which conversions qualify a person for citizenship in the Jewish state.

The proposal, promoted by religious coalition lawmakers, would make recognition of conversion for Law of Return purposes dependent on halachic, or Orthodox, standards. In practice, it could exclude Reform and Conservative conversions that have gained recognition over the years through court rulings and state practice.

Supporters say the bill is meant to prevent abuse of Israel’s immigration system, not to provoke a fight with non-Orthodox Jewish communities abroad. Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman told The Media Line that the Law of Return was intended to serve the Jewish people and Diaspora Jewish communities, but has been stretched by courts to recognize conversions he described as extremely lenient.

Rothman said some people who would not otherwise qualify for Israeli immigration seek out obscure communities abroad, undergo minimal conversion procedures, and then apply for citizenship as Jews.

“You have a person who cannot immigrate under normal Israeli immigration laws,” Rothman said. “Then he goes to some community nobody has heard of, converts under an ‘everything goes’ process, comes back with a paper saying he’s Jewish, and the courts start recognizing it.”

Rothman rejected the claim that the bill is aimed at liberal Jewish movements, while acknowledging that some communities, especially in the United States, would likely feel hurt by it. He argued that the practical impact would be limited because relatively few immigrants enter Israel through non-Orthodox conversions.

Opposition lawmakers and liberal Jewish groups see the measure differently. MK Efrat Rayten of The Democrats told The Media Line that the claim of preventing abuse is a “smokescreen,” arguing that the real goal is to strengthen the power of Israel’s religious establishment.

Rayten said the bill is part of a broader coalition effort involving rabbinical courts, gender separation and religious influence in public institutions. She warned that it would deepen the divide between Israel and large parts of Diaspora Jewry.

The issue is especially sensitive in the United States, where most Jews are not Orthodox. Critics say giving the Chief Rabbinate decisive authority over conversion for citizenship purposes would send a message that Reform and Conservative Jews are less fully recognized by Israel.

Supporters of the bill point to a 1960 Interior Ministry document defining a Jew for registration purposes as someone born to a Jewish mother or converted according to halacha. Rothman said lawmakers should not determine halacha themselves, but should rely on the Chief Rabbinate as the state’s religious authority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs to postpone discussion of the proposal, delaying but not removing one of the coalition’s most sensitive religion-and-state debates.