Welcome to 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
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Fast Forward Israel Chief Rabbi Vows To Defy Conversion Law
One of Israel’s two chief rabbis said he would not recognize conversions performed by municipal rabbis despite a government directive validating them. A recording of Yitzhak Yosef vowing to block the conversions was published Wednesday on the website kikar.co.il. The Sephardic chief rabbi said he would withhold his signature, which is still required to complete…
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Fast Forward Christian Idaho Woman Converts Jewish Neighbor — by Attacking Her
A Boise, Idaho woman harassed and physically attacked a Jewish neighbor in order to convince her to convert to Christianity. Marguerite Haragan, 58, harassed the Jewish woman identified in a court hearing on Feb. 12 as AG first by phone calls and then by showing up at her home in Ada County. Haragan, 58, has…
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Forward 50 2014 Barry Freundel
It’s hard to imagine a more disturbing violation of a sacred Jewish space than the one of which Orthodox rabbi Barry Freundel is accused. In late September, someone saw the 62-year-old Washington, D.C., rabbi plug in a clock in his synagogue’s mikveh. The clock was spotted again on October 12, and synagogue officials gave the…
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News For Many Converts, Bumpy Road to Mikveh Only Beginning of Woes
(JTA) — There was the convert who was barred from a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the Jamaican convert whose boyfriend’s rabbi offered him a coveted synagogue honor if only he’d dump her, the grandmother who told her granddaughter she’d be going to hell because she became a Jew. The road to conversion can be long…
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Fast Forward Israel Moves To Ease Path to Conversion
(JTA) — The Israeli government has adopted a major reform expected to ease the path to conversion for hundreds of thousands of Israelis now prohibited from marrying in the Jewish state. In the most significant response in decades to the estimated 400,000 Israelis who are not considered Jewish by the Chief Rabbinate, the Cabinet expanded authority…
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The Schmooze Brad Pitt Helped Shia LaBeouf Convert to Christianity
Getty Images Shia LaBeouf is many things: the former child star of “Even Stevens;” a sometimes weird performance artist; that drunk guy who crashes a performance of “Cabaret” and gets arrested. But a Jew? No longer. According to Haaretz, the actor has converted to Christianity, with a little help from Brad Pitt. LaBeouf, currently starring…
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Fast Forward Conversion Reform Passes Israeli Cabinet Vote
Israel’s Cabinet approved a government regulation that will reform the conversion process. The regulation approved on Sunday at the regular weekly Cabinet meeting will have the force of law. It can, however, be rescinded by the Cabinet as well. Only one government minister, the Jewish Home party’s Uri Ariel, who serves as housing minister, voted…
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Fast Forward After Mikveh Scandal, Rabbinic Council Appoint Committee To Review Conversion
The Rabbinical Council of America has formed a committee to review its conversion process in the wake of the arrest on voyeurism charges of one of its leading conversion rabbis. The RCA announced Wednesday the men and women appointed to a committee to review its current Geirus Protocol and Standards conversion process and suggest safeguards…
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