Ex-minister who proposed conversion reform says Knesset forced High Court’s hand

The former minister who was tasked with producing a compromise reform to Israel’s conversion laws says yesterday’s High Court decision legitimizing non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism was inevitable.

Moshe Nissim headed a special government committee that proposed an overhaul of the conversion system in Israel, which would remove it from under the control of the Haredi-dominated rabbinate and establishing a new state-run Orthodox authority instead.

But the 2018 proposal was never adopted by the government due to Haredi and national religious opposition.

Non-Orthodox groups petitioned against the status quo, leading the High Court to urge the government to pass legislation on the matter, but that was never done, leading to yesterday’s ruling.

Nissim tell the Kan public broadcaster that opponents of the ruling have no one to blame but themselves as they rejected an opportunity to reform the process and keep the matter in the hands of the Orthodox.

“They caused the High Court ruling,” Nissim says.