Shas, Republicans join forces in fight against abortions
Three US pro-life congressmen visit Israel, meet with local haredi lawmakers in bid to establish cooperation in battle against abortions in country
Three Republican US congressmen arrived in Israel this week to promote American-Israeli cooperation in the battle against abortions.
The three, all leading pro-life figures in the US, are Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, who heads the anti-abortion lobby in Congress, Congressman Frank Wolf from Virginia and Congressman Joseph Pitts from Pennsylvania.
During their visit in Israel, the congressmen met with Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and expressed their concern regarding Israel's declining birth rate, compared to the growing birth rate among the Palestinians. The representatives also lauded the rabbi for the Chief Rabbinate's strong stance against abortions.
The congressmen met with haredi political figures in order to promote Knesset legislation that would help enforce current abortion laws in Israel, or that could lead to prohibition of abortions by law.
In a meeting with Shas MK Chaim Amsellem, the latter announced his plans to establish a parliamentary lobby against abortions that would work closely with Smith's American lobby.
The American and Israeli officials also discussed the possibility of holding a Republican party conference in Washington that would host rabbis and academics, alongside Israeli MKs from the anti-abortion lobby, and aim to raise awareness to their cause.
