After vowing to oppose it, Likud MK to be replaced in vote on bill boosting Rabbinate’s influence

After vowing to oppose a reintroduced bill that would dramatically change how municipal rabbis are chosen, Likud MK Tally Gotliv reportedly agrees to be replaced by another lawmaker in tomorrow’s in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

The controversial bill would greatly expand the influence of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and Religious Services Ministry in the appointment of municipal rabbis at the expense of local authorities — while at the same time also eroding the role of women in the process.

“If my position and the position of other members of the Knesset to remove the law from the agenda will not be accepted, then there is a legal way to force the removal of the law from the agenda,” Gotliv said earlier today, without giving further details.

However, even though the replacement lawmaker is expected to support the bill, it still isn’t clear whether the coalition will get the needed majority, as Otzma Yehudit MKs Yitzhak Kroizer and Moshe Saada intend to vote against it.