New Israeli bill aims to disqualify non-Orthodox converts from Law of Return

Coalition MK revives efforts to amend Israel’s Law of Return, granting state recognition of Jewishness for purposes of immigration to Orthodox conversions.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A senior Israeli lawmaker in the ruling coalition government has drafted legislation aimed at amending the country’s immigration laws, with the goal of ensuring that only conversions carried out in accordance with Jewish law are recognized.

The amendment, sponsored by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, who chairs the powerful Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, is expected to come before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation as early as next week, Israel Hayom reported.

If it wins the backing of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, the bill will secure formal backing from the coalition and will be placed on a fast track for passage.

The proposal would add the words “converted according to halacha” to the law’s definition of a Jew, effectively limiting state recognition of conversions to those performed by Orthodox rabbis.

The Law of Return currently defines a Jew as someone “born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion.”

According to the bill’s explanatory notes, the change is intended to “put an end to the ongoing dispute” over conversion and establish a single state definition of Jewish identity that remains “faithful to the heritage that preserved the identity of the Jewish people for thousands of years.”

The bill would mark a major victory for Orthodox parties and lawmakers who have long sought to narrow state recognition of conversions.

It would also reignite a decades-old dispute with Reform and Conservative Jewish movements, particularly in the Diaspora, over who is recognized as Jewish for immigration and citizenship purposes.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court ordered the state to recognize, for the purposes of the Law of Return, Reform and Conservative conversions performed in Israel, allowing those converts to receive immigrant status and citizenship.

Rothman is seeking to revive the amendment after a previous effort by MK Avi Maoz was blocked following opposition inside the coalition, according to Israel Hayom.

The proposal comes amid broader tensions over religion-and-state issues in Israel, including conversion, rabbinic authority and the role of non-Orthodox Jewish movements in public life.

Supporters say the amendment would clarify the law and preserve a traditional definition of Jewish identity.

Opponents are expected to argue that it would deepen divisions between Israel and large parts of world Jewry, especially Reform and Conservative communities, and roll back recognition granted by the courts.