Conversion

Facing exile and persecution, an Iranian dissident crossed from devout Muslim to student of Judaism

IRANIAN AFFAIRS: Iranian refugee Behnam Vali Heydarian recounts persecution, attacks, pro-Israel activism, and fears of deportation to Iran after his journey from Islam to Christianity and Judaism.

IRANIAN ACTIVISTS display the Lion and Sun flag alongside Israel’s flag outside Georgia’s parliament at one of the rallies that interviewee Behnam Vali Heydarian says he was pressured to stop organizing.
Rubaha, 8, watches from the entrance of her home as a buffalo is held down for sacrificial slaughter in celebration of Eid al-Adha in the Walled City of Lahore, Pakistan, June 8, 2025.

European Parliament demands Pakistan free 13-year-old Christian girl in forced marriage, conversion

RALLYING IN JERUSALEM for the Bnei Anusim.

Latin American Jewish converts caught between communal bans and Israel’s Law of Return

A Yazidi woman holds a flame during the Charshama Sor Red New Year ceremony at the Lalish temple in Iraq in April. For a community repeatedly driven from its ancestral homes and subjected to forced conversions, religious tradition has become an enduring expression of survival and continuity.

From forced conversion to genocide: How Yazidis carry centuries of persecution into exile


Converting to Judaism in Israel is nearly impossible - ITIM report

The number applying for conversion in the last decade has been low but even among those who did apply, fewer than half were able to complete the process.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews perform a brit mila in the ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on November  9, 2014

Nativ: Helping IDF lone soldiers become halachically Jewish

The "Magazine" sat down with four young IDF soldiers who opened up about their reasons for why they chose to undergo conversion to Judaism.

 122 SOLDIERS graduating from the Nativ military conversion program celebrate at the Kotel, May 2022.

Lionel Richie's daughter converts to Judaism

Sofia Richie revealed that she had been attending conversion classes ahead of her marriage to Elliot Grainge.

Country Music Association Awards - Arrivals - Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., 14/11/2018 - Lionel Richie

Porto Jews push to posthumously reinstate 'Portuguese Dreyfus' into army

Arthur Carlos Barros Basto was a Portuguese Army officer who was declared “immoral” in June 1937 for helping returning descendants of Jews to become circumcised.

 Scenes from the movie "Sefarad" about the Portuguese Dreyfus.

The Lost Tribes of Israel: Who are their descendants today?

There is a group of people looking to uncover the truth behind the lost tribes in order to determine where they went and to integrate them back into the Jewish people.

 TWELVE TRIBES mosaic (Middle candelabrum modified).

Go away: Arye Deri should quit Israeli politics forever and stay home - opinion

I conjecture that Deri would sell every Judea and Samaria settler to the Saudis, twice over, if that were to earn Shas-affiliated schools a 2% budget increase.

 ARYE DERI is escorted outside his home in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Mainstream religious Zionist rabbi appointed head of Conversion Authority

A new head of the Conversion Authority has been appointed by the Prime Minister's Office.

 The building of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is located in Jerualem.

Myrna Bennett, the (Jewish) mother of Israel's ex-prime minister - opinion

Mother Myrna, who traditionally has shied away from publicity, has suddenly found herself wooed by major news outlets wanting her take.

 MYRNA BENNETT with son Naftali.

Netanyahu had no reason to give in to Maoz's demands - editorial

Netanyahu did not have to compromise his own beliefs and cave in to each of Maoz’s demands – in fact, he could have formed a stable coalition without him.

Noam Party leader Avi Maoz poses for a picture at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 19, 2021.

An Evangelical’s journey to Judaism, Israel – and love of soccer

Frankie McLean, who for decades has been known as Sarit Edri, recently shared her incredible and impressive journey to Judaism and Israel. Now she's returned to soccer.

 WITH FAMILY.