The Ministerial Committee for Legislation decided on Sunday to back a controversial bill banning Reform Jews from mikvehs. The bill, proposed by MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), will most likely come up for a first reading in the Knesset this week.

Along with Likud’s Yariv Levin, who chaired the meeting, ministers David Azoulay (Shas) and Yaakov Litzman (UTJ) voted in favor. The other ministers, including those from Kulanu who object to the wording of the bill, as well as ministers from Habayit Hayehudi, did not participate in the vote and were not present in the room.

The director of the Reform Movement, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, attacked the decision. […]

“We would do well to mention that in total contradiction to the recommendation of the High Court, the Ministry of Religious Services refused for years on end to reach a logical compromise with the non-Orthodox movements regarding the mikvehs, and it is this stubbornness that led to the court decision.

We hope that both on this issue and that issue of the Western Wall, the Israeli government will defend the principle that the State of Israel is the state of the entire Jewish people, with all its denominations and congregations.”