“I am sorry that things unraveled the way they did,” Lieberman said at the Knesset’s faction meeting Monday.

His remarks came a day after heated discussion in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which opted to discuss the conversion bill Monday, but not vote on it.

The religious parties fear the bill will strip rabbis from their religious authority. The claims were refuted by Lieberman who said that for over a year party members met with rabbis from every religious stream in order to iron out any fears and prepare the bill for legislature.

The foreign minister said the intensive discussions led to an agreement on the conversion bill being signed by Chief Sephardic Rabbi Amar, and also with Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef .

It therefore was a surprise to hear Shas on Sunday opposing the agreement, he said.
 

Lieberman said he hopes that Tuesday the bill will be voted on. “I appeal to people’s common sense, this impacts 80,000 children with nothing in the nationality clause on their identity cards, it is an intolerable situation,” he said.
 

The foreign minister has stressed that he does not seek to break the coalition, but refused to say if his party
will leave the coalition, if the bill fails to pass the second and third reading.

If the law is passed, city and regional rabbis will be able to perform and register conversions, and even marry two partners, one of whom is a convert with no connection to their place of residence,” a statement issued by Lieberman’s party last week, said.
 

Haaretz said according to the bill, conversion will be an insufficient basis for requesting Israeli citizenship and proposes that the Law of Return be applicable to Jews and their offspring and not to non-Jews even if they are willing to convert. Human rights groups have said the bill will harm the rights of converts and will broaden the powers of the Chief Rabbinate on the issue.