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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Yiddish World What this convert to Christianity wrote about the Jews
Haym Isaac's 1836 book on the folklore of the Polish and German Jews was so popular, there were three editions of it.
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Sports These Jews were among baseball’s all-time greats — but do they count as Jewish baseball players?
If you convert after your career is over, were your accomplishments Jewish feats? The Talmudic answer is unclear.
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News Orthodox leaders travel to Israel to lobby government against issues important to Conservative and Reform movements
A group of American and European Orthodox leaders are heading to Israel on Tuesday for a 48-hour mission to lobby the government to shelve plans that would change the status quo on religious issues that are supported by liberal Zionists and the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism. The mission is organized by Am Echad,…
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Opinion Germany denied my Holocaust survivor mother reparations — twice
When I was 34, I discovered my mother was a Holocaust survivor. My parents finally put their hellish marriage out of its misery and called it quits. In the aftermath, I came across an affidavit in which my mother was claiming financial support. In it, she stated she was born into the Jewish faith. It…
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Letters Letter | For converts to have a voice, the Knesset must be reformed
To the editors: Rabbi Seth Farber was absolutely correct when he said that “To Israel, converts are still just a political football.” Israel was certainly aware, even before Jews were allowed to leave the Soviet Union in significant numbers, that many of the people entering Israel, completely legitimately under the Law of Return, were not…
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Opinion To Israel, converts are still just a political football
This week, Israeli converts to Judaism found themselves once more caught in a political power struggle between Israel’s religious right and left. After 15 years of waiting for the Knesset to find a legislative solution to Israel’s conversion crisis, the Supreme Court dropped a legal bombshell by issuing a verdict requiring Israel’s Interior Ministry to…
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Opinion With conversion decision, Israel moves one step closer to being genuinely inclusive
It is the rainy season in Israel, so I have been thinking about umbrellas. It is tempting to make a benign, even cozy, metaphor, imagining Israel as a protective force shielding us from threatening storms, and a means of uniting us as we huddle together to stay warm and dry. I wish I could give…
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Opinion Israel’s conversion news isn’t good for converts
As a convert to Judaism, it’s frequently the case that when conversion and Israel come into the news, I avoid reading the stories. It’s simply never good news. This week’s Israeli High Court decision recognizing converts via the Reform and Conservative movement might appear to be different — that is, until you read the fine…
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