UTJ chief: We won't enter coalition that doesn't nullify conversion ruling

United Torah Judaism party chief Moshe Gafni says his party will not enter a coalition that does not find a way to nullify a High Court ruling recognizing conversions to Judaism in Israel through the Reform and Conservative movements.

“We will not enter a coalition that does not have a legal solution for the High Court’s ruling on conversion,” Gafni tells Army Radio.

The court’s ruling has enraged Haredi leaders, who wish to maintain their grip on conversion policy.

Gafni also defends a party campaign clip that compared people who convert to Judaism through non-Orthodox denominations to dogs wearing kippot.

Chairman of the Degel haTorah party Moshe Gafni, at the opening event of their election campaign, ahead of the Israeli elections, in Jerusalem, on February 12, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

“I would have made much worse clips,” he says. “For instance, take a huge group of immigrants in south Tel Aviv and show what happens if their Reform conversion is recognized.”