In Israel, the Rotem conversion bill, which first loomed as a threat earlier this year, has passed the first vote in the Knesset. This is a very bad thing, because the bill threatens religious pluralism in Israel, the status of all liberal Jews, including Conservative/Masorti Jews, both in Israel and outside it, and the relationship of liberal Jews to the Jewish state.

 Rabbi Steve Wernick was in Israel when he, along with his Masorti colleagues, learned that MK David Rotem was taking the bill to the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, hoping to have it approved before the end of the Knesset session, which is soon after Tisha B'Av. This was an upsetting surprise; Rabbi Wernick and his colleagues had been assured many times by many officials that no version of the bill would be brought forward at that time and in that way. Rabbi Wernick has done a great deal of lobbying, and has met with Minister Sharansky and other MKs. Members of the Kadimah party have been supportive, he tells us.

There is something that we can do, and we have to do it NOW.

Please click here

http://www.masorti.org/email/form-letter.html

and fill out the form.

Click on it. That will send it to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

It is vitally important for all of us - Conservative/Masorti Jews, liberal Jews, and ultimately all Jews - that this bill, which will serve only to divide the Jewish world and subvert the Zionist ideal - not be allowed to pass.

Please forward this to your entire list. There is not enough time for us to send this the conventional way through our database. This should go to every Conservative Jew you can think of - executive directors, other professionals, presidents, other lay leaders, and everyone else.

For more information: 

http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/are_you_jewish_enough_20100713/ 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/12/AR2010071203071.html  

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/american-jewish-leader-israel-is-trying-to-delegitimize-liberal-judaism-1.301537  

and The Jerusalem post describes the situation here http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=181141

 And here: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=181177

 Here, the Jerusalem Post's editorial is strongly against the Rotem bill:

Jpost editorial http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=181271