Good Tuesday morning!
In a landmark decision, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled 8-1 yesterday in favor of recognizing non-Orthodox conversions for the sake of granting citizenship.
The ruling was met with a flurry of condemnation by haredi lawmakers as well as both Israeli chief rabbis. The Likud Party said the decision “endangers the Law of Return,” while Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomed the move, saying that Israel needs to “fully equalize the rights of all streams of Judaism Orthodox, Reform and Conservative.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet weighed in on the decision.
The justices noted in their decision that they waited 15 years to issue a ruling, during which the Knesset dragged its feet on the issue, and did not advance legislation to address it. The Knesset has previously floated legislation that would allow it to override High Court decisions.