Israeli Justice Jockeying To Write Opinion On "Who Is A Jew?"

The Israeli Supreme Court has pending before it a case raising the question of whether the government must recognize as Jews under the Law of Return individuals who have been converted in Israel by Reform and Conservative rabbis. (See prior posting.) Haaretz today reports that in an unusual move, Supreme Court President Aharon Barak is encouraging the parties to agree to consolidate the cases with other related cases that are further along so that Barak will be the one who can write the high court's ruling on the delicate "who is a Jew" issue before he retires in December. However, the Justice Ministry says that it cannot formulate its response until after the elections are held and a new government is formed.