This is the Forward’s coverage of conversion, the process by which those of other faiths adopt Judaism. Most streams of Judaism, unlike many other religions, do not evangelize.
Conversion
The Latest
-
Fast Forward Rabbis Tell Israeli Mom: You’re Not Jewish — After 30 Years
An Israeli mother whom a rabbinical court declared to be not Jewish said in an appeal that the judges failed to satisfactorily explain their unusual decision. Sarit Azoulay’s appeal, which she filed this month with the High Rabbinical Court, concerns a 2012 ruling by the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court that nullified her mother’s 1983 conversion to…
-
Fast Forward Catholics Should Not Try To Convert Jews, Vatican Says
Catholics should not try to convert Jews and should work with them to fight anti-Semitism, the Vatican said on Thursday in a major document drawing the Church further away from the strained relations of the past. It was the latest move on a host of issues, such as gay rights and re-marriage, that the Vatican…
-
Life Israel’s Voiding of Conversions Should Worry Us All
For at least the past seven years or so, the State of Israel has been subjecting converts to intense examinations and inquiries regarding the level of their religious observance. When a convert requests that a rabbinic court administer a get in the context of an amicable divorce, rabbinic judges will surreptitiously cross-examine the convert: Did…
-
The Schmooze Zooey Deschanel Is Judaism’s ‘New Girl’ After Conversion
Actress Zooey Deschanel has converted to Judaism. Deschanel, the daughter of a Quaker and Roman Catholic, converted shortly before marrying producer Jacob Pechenik, Us Weekly reported Monday. The article did not say what denomination of rabbi supervised her conversion. The two married in June, a month before the birth of their daughter, Elsie. “Zooey converted…
-
Forward 50 2015 Bethany Mandel
What do you do when you discover that your rabbi filmed you naked in the mikveh as you were converting to Judaism? You pull out your cell phone at 2 a.m., type up “a bill of rights for Jewish converts” and watch as your blog post goes viral by morning. At least, that’s how you…
-
Fast Forward Michele Bachmann Calls for Stepped-Up Push To Convert Jews
Former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann called for an intensified effort to convert Jews to Christianity. Bachmann, a former congresswoman from Minnesota who ran for the Republican presidential nod in 2012, was in Israel last week on a tour organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group. Toward the end of the week, she…
-
Israel News Orthodox Conversion Rebels Challenge Rabbinate on Marriage
In the latest challenge to Israel’s supreme religious authority, several Orthodox rabbis have begun to perform weddings for converts who are not recognized by the Chief Rabbinate. In recent months, Haaretz has learned, these rabbis officiated at three such weddings involving Israelis converted by a new alternative rabbinical court. Their names cannot be published, however,…
-
Fast Forward Chief Rabbi Declares War on Orthodox Conversion Rebels
Israel’s chief Ashkenazi rabbi accused the founders of a private conversion court of “fighting against the Torah.” David Lau made the allegation Thursday night at the inaugural event of B’Noam, a lobby group devoted to defending the policies of Israel’s chief rabbinate and its religious establishment, in reference to the announcement last week of several…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News When observant Jews gathered to challenge Israel orthodoxy, verbal sparring and walkouts ensued
- 2
Opinion Trump has forced an impossible choice on American synagogues amid antisemitic attacks
- 3
Opinion The one crucial domain in which Iran outwitted Israel
- 4
Opinion Antisemitism is exploding on the right but the Jewish establishment is focused on the left
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Israelis and Americans deserve to know why they are still at war
-
News A government takeover could save a struggling Brooklyn hospital — while unsettling the Orthodox Jewish community it serves
-
News Joe Kent, Trump official with white supremacist ties, resigns over Iran war and blames Israel
-
Fast Forward Dueling letters from Jewish groups dispute prevalence of antisemitism at UCLA
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
