Conversion

Grapevine, May 29, 2026: Meaningful conversation

Movers and shakers in Israeli society

|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
A general view of Jerusalem's Old City shows the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in the foreground as the Dome of the Rock, located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, is seen in the background.
THE EXPECTATION that citizens should roam the length and breadth of the country in order to find an appointment slot somewhere to renew a passport is preposterous.

Proposed Law of Return amendment sparks debate over conversion standards in Israel

Religious coalition lawmakers frame the bill as a return to halachic conversion standards, while opponents say it would hand the religious establishment greater control over Jewish identity

|ByGABRIEL COLODRO/THE MEDIA LINE
RAISING THE flag before prayer services in the field.

Making it official: Inside the Nativ program training IDF soldiers to 'join the tribe'

Nativ began with a Trustee Committee in 1998 and was adopted as a military program in 2000. To date, over 58,000 soldiers have begun the program, and close to 20,000 have completed conversion.

|ByJUDITH SEGALOFF
Kidist Mengistu, a lone soldier from Ethiopia, was surprised by her mother at the Western Wall for bat mitzvah ceremony, Februrary 23, 2026.

IDF lone soldiers mark bar and bat mitzvah at Western Wall, including some family surprises

The event was organized by Ach Gadol (Big Brother for Lone Soldiers), a nonprofit that provides one-on-one mentorship and community support for soldiers serving in Israel without immediate family.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Conversion in Israel: The tug of war between the state, rabbinate

How did conversion to Judaism get caught in up the midst of an Israeli political controversy over the Law of Return and identifying who is a Jew?

AUGUST 27, 2022ByRAPHAEL SHUCHAT
A WOMAN stands before the rabbinical court.

Cardinal with Jewish ancestry honors Jewish-born nun murdered in Auschwitz

Born Edith Stein in Breslau, Germany to an Orthodox Jewish family, Stein converted to Catholicism in her 30s.

AUGUST 11, 2022ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA
THE GATE to Auschwitz, photographed in January 2021, 76 years after the camp’s liberation: There are still countless Jews who say about the Shoah, ‘If this could happen, how can anyone still believe in God?’

The journey from Jewish convert to accomplished artist, scribe

Neriah Israel's journey from South Africa to Dimona

JUNE 16, 2022ByBRADLEY MARTIN
Neriah Israel writing a page of a Sefer Torah scroll.

'Covenant': Creating a Jewish conversion spectrum - review

Turning some of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s ideas toward resolving the Jewish identity crisis

JUNE 11, 2022BySHUKI FRIEDMAN
REFORM JEWS hold up broken hearts as they demonstrate outside the Knesset in 1997 against pending legislation by ultra-religious parties to tighten their grip on conversion issues.

The irony of Jewish conversion in Israel - opinion

"They want mass conversion. This won’t happen," Rabbi Yosef said about the deputy religious affairs minister.

JUNE 8, 2022BySETH FARBER
SEPHARDI CHIEF RABBI Yitzhak Yosef speaks out at a rally in Jerusalem against conversion and kashrut reforms, in January.

Shira Ben Avraham's spiritual 'Journey' to Judaism, motherhood

“It’s a collection of songs that were written as part of this journey that I’ve been on for the past, say, 10 years, that really started in South Africa where I grew up.”

MAY 30, 2022ByBEN BRESKY
SHIRA BEN AVRAHAM in the Nahlaot neighborhood.

Judaism must learn to welcome outsiders to its traditions - opinion

Non-Jewish people should be able to explore Jewish traditions and elements without having to commit to converting.

MAY 21, 2022ByBENJAMIN SPRATT, JOSHUA STANTON
Ambassadors and senior diplomats join Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon at a mock Passover seder

Israel grants basketball player Jared Armstrong temporary residence

The decision has temporarily ended a months-long saga of rejections, petitions from influential figures and accusations of racism.

MAY 9, 2022ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
Jared Armstrong, left, on a Birthright Israel trip in 2021. Armstrong, a basketball player who had received an offer to play for an Israeli club team, petitioned the Israeli government for citizenship for months.

Jewish-American basketball player: Shaked prefers giving citizenship to oligarchs than to me

Jared Armstrong, 24, cannot play his sport in Israel because his visa has expired and he hasn’t been granted Israeli citizenship - his conversion has come under question.

MAY 3, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Jewish-American basketball player Jared Armstrong

Are Israel's kashrut, conversion reforms moving forward?

While the State of Israel in 2022 may not yet be fully redeemed, these words do provide a certain sense of optimism and renewal. 

APRIL 14, 2022ByALAN ROSENBAUM
GABI GLUCK, owner of Caya Specialty Coffee in Ra’anana, holds Tzohar’s kashrut certification.