Tag: Conversion
Judaism is not a state of mind
Writer Jennifer Cox recently published an article about her decision to raise her family Jewish despite the outpouring of antisemitism since Oct. 7. The piece outlines many of the choices she and her husband have made...
Phoenix Suns to retire jersey of former basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire
The Hebrew word lev, Hebrew for “heart,” has a numerical value in Gematria of 32. One of the professional basketball players who played with the most heart—the Israeli citizen and convert to Judaism Amar’e Stoudemire—is...
Caught in violence in northeast India, Bnei Menashe face ‘appalling’ conditions
Caught in the middle of violence between Meitei Hindus and Kuki Christians, the Bnei Menashe, who claim descent from a “lost” biblical tribe and whom Israel accepts upon conversion, have been displaced from their...
High Court ends Orthodox monopoly on conversion for adoption
After a 20-year legal battle, the High Court of Justice on Sunday ended a practice whereby non-Jewish children adopted in Israel have to undergo an Orthodox conversion to Judaism.
The nine-justice panel issued its ruling...
Israel’s new coalition shouldn’t write off American Jewry
It may be that some of the statements emanating from certain partners in Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government are more a function of posturing than genuine policy priorities. But even if those expressing them are...
Conversion bill delayed, but tensions over issues associated with Jewish law remain
The Knesset, which was to vote to revamp rules regarding Jewish conversion, has delayed the bill until the start of its summer session in May due to the political sensitivity of the issue. The...
‘We will not accept converts under new reform,’ Israel’s Sephardi chief rabbi warns
Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef harshly criticized Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana on Tuesday for spearheading conversion and kashrut reforms Yosef claims go against Jewish law.
Speaking at a massive rabbinical gathering, Yosef accused...
Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi: ‘The Knesset won’t decide who is a Jew’
“I’m still a little weak. A few days ago I got over COVID,” Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau apologizes at the beginning of a conversation with Israel Hayom.
A few hundreds meters from the bustling...
Taking jab at previous government, Lapid aims to prioritize relations with Diaspora Jewry
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel’s government would highly prioritize its relationship with Diaspora Jews, differentiating itself from the government of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He made the statements during a Jewish Federations...
‘Your people will be my people’: A Shavuot shout-out to Ruth’s ‘daughters’
“You shall love the convert for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
— Deuteronomy 10:19
There was a moment some 2,500 years ago when a recently widowed Moabite princess refused to abandon her aging mother-in-law...