The religious establishment has reacted furiously to a Supreme Court ruling allowing the Reform and Masorti (Conservative) Movements in Israel to use public mikvaot (ritual baths) for conversion immersion ceremonies.

… Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef described the ruling as “wretched” and “outrageous,” and accused the non-Orthodox movements of making arbitrary use of Jewish law for their own ends.

“The Reform are undermining the Jewish identity of the State of Israel and are using Jewish law for their needs only when it suits them,” the chief rabbi said.

“The court cannot with one hand satisfy the desire of a tiny handful of people and with the other hand strike a mortal wound to the masses of Jews who want Jewish life in accordance with Jewish law and the continued preservation of the true Jewish identity of the state,” he added.