JERUSALEM:
Israel’s Supreme Court dealt a blow to the power of the rabbinical establishment Thursday by ordering the state to recognise non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism, including those in the Reform and Conservative movements.

Orthodox rabbis, who had control over conversion under Israeli law, reacted angrily to the ruling, which means a wider pool of converts will become eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.

Orthodox leaders warned of a split in the Jewish nation, saying Reform and Conservative conversions were equivalent to converting by fax. «This is very serious. This is not the way to become a real Jew,» Yona Metzger, Israel’s chief rabbi, told Israeli Radio. (FT)