Israel – Liberman Agrees Not To Advance Legislation On Haredi Enlistment, Conversion

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    Leader of the Israel Beyteinu political party Avigdor Liberman arrives to a coalition talks with Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin (unseen) at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, May 19, 2016. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 Israel – Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman has agreed not to advance legislation on haredi IDF enlistment, conversion reform, and other issues relating to religion and state, as one of the conditions for his party joining the coalition.

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    His commitment comes after officials from United Torah Judaism insisted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they would only agree to Yisrael Beytenu joining the coalition on such a basis.

    UTJ’s coalition agreement with Likud states explicitly that the status quo on religion and state, which is broadly defined by the haredi parties, be preserved for the lifetime of the government.

    Liberman has been highly critical of the current coalition for having gutted the haredi enlistment law passed by the last government, as well as its repeal of reforms to the state conversion process also approved by the previous government.

    He has also called haredi Judaism “a cult” on several occasions in the last 18 months, advanced a civil unions bill in the Knesset this year, and advanced a bill to reinstate the reforms of the last government abolished by the current one.

    “We in Yisrael Beytenu are against a haredi state,” said Liberman during the Knesset debate over the conversion law, which was defeated.

    According to a spokesperson for Tourism Minister and Likud MK Yariv Levin who is negotiating the coalition agreement with Yisrael Beytenu, a governmental committee with representatives from all coalition parties will be established to coordinate on matters of religion and state that arise during the lifetime of the government.

    UTJ MK Menachem Eliezer Mozes said on Thursday that the party was in favor of broadening the coalition in order to create greater stability, but had insisted that Yisrael Beytenu refrain from advancing legislation that would change the religious status quo.

    “We have demanded that that the foundational principles of the government and our coalition agreement with Likud be honored,” Mozes told The Jerusalem Post.

    Another concern of the haredi parties is Liberman’s stance over haredi enlistment and the ramifications of his expected appointment as Defense Minister.

    Under the terms of an amendment passed by the current government in November last year, mandatory haredi enlistment to the IDF will be postponed till 2020, after which the Defense Minister will be entitled to continue granting exemptions to yeshiva students even if the government targets are not met.

    Elements in the haredi parties have voiced concern that Liberman as Defense Minister would have the authority to draft haredi yeshiva students if he so wished, although Mozes noted that this would only go into effect three years from now.

    Yaakov Asher, the director of Degel Hatorah, one of the two constituent parties of the UTJ Knesset faction, said that UTJ’s conditions had been made clear to Netanyahu.

    He also noted that Yisrael Beytenu would be obliged to vote with the government on legislation pertaining to religious issues should the coalition decide to advance such laws.

    In March, UTJ sponsored a bill that would circumvent a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year which prohibited the practice of denying Reform and Conservative converts the use of public mikvas.

    The law passed its first reading in Knesset, although Yisrael Beytenu voted against it.

    UTJ has also promised to introduce legislation in the coming Knesset session to circumvent another decision by the High Court of Justice this year which ruled that foreign nationals who convert to Judaism through private, Orthodox rabbinical courts must be given the right to citizenship.


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