The Knesset Interior Committee on Monday, 7 Sivan, passed the so-called Mikve Bill initiated by MK Moshe Gafne. The bill was the response to a High Court ruling instructing the Beersheva Religious Council to permit a Reform convert to toivel in the state-run mikve. Gafne’s bill circumvents the High Court’s ruling.

There will be some changes made to the bill before it is voted on in second and third readings in Knesset. Likud reports one of the ‘changes’ includes the Jewish Agency building four mikvaos for Israel’s Reform Movement community. Gafne explains he is unaware of such changes and opposes them, citing the religious party will not permit this.

During the session MK Yisrael Eichler added “The Reform Movement in the USA decided a pool can serve as a mikve so the High Court decision in Israel is merely the Reform’s effort to create a religious war in Israel”.

“Ben-Gurion reached agreement with the religious Jews that state religious services will be in accordance with the Chief Rabbinate. We did not always love the Rabbanut but it is the exclusive body recognized by the state” added Eichler.

He warned that if the High Court wishes to bring about a religious war and ignore the Chief Rabbinate, “we have 800,000 Jews who will break the law and do as they wish against the secular throughout Israel”.

MK Uri Maklev added that every time legislation dealing with religion is passed, they must then contend with the incitement from the Reform Movement”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)