Interior Ministry rejects Kibita Yosef's application for citizenship again, defying court decision to recognize non-Orthodox conversions performed in Israel

Contentious decision passes by one vote after left-leaning members try to delay untill after election; purchase won't go through until group decides its policy beyond Green Line

Conservative Jewish group joins Reform Movement in condemning plan to purchase private Palestinian land for settlements, saying move could also damage Israel's foreign ties

While the Jewish Agency recognizes the non-Orthodox conversions of the Abayudaya community, the Interior Ministry refuses, driving a bigger wedge between Israeli and Diaspora Jewry

Rabbi Reuven Hammer remembered for his role in founding the Masorti movement and as 'a leading scholar in the Jewish world'