Conversion Controversy

-The High Rabbinical Court of Israel has ruled that all of the thousands of conversions conducted since 1999 by Rabbi Drukman – who heads the Conversion Authority — must be declared invalid. They also ruled that it was permitted to retroactively cancel the conversion of someone who does not observe the Sabbath, doing so to the woman in the actual case, whose conversion was 15 years ago. Their ruling converted her children into gentiles, and “out of extra caution,â€? they ruled that her husband, a born Jew, could not marry either. (The Jerusalem Post)

-But it turns out that Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar tried to halt the publication of the ruling. (Haaretz)

-And criticism arises quickly. (Haaretz)

-For Yesmao Yela’o, having died speeded up his conversion process. (Haaretz)

-What is billed as “the largest conference of Black, Asian, Latino, and mix-raced Jewish leaders” has its focus on issues around conversion. (Earth Times)

-Rabbi Myron Zuber writes about converting Inca Indians in Peru, but notes, “The Lima Jews do not permit the Inca Jews to enter their synagogue, even though the Incans were converted by a Bais Din of Israel.� (Kulanu)

Discover More

A Dead Horse Rigged to a Land Mine?

Now is the time to strike a deal with the Palestinians, says Yossi Beilin, because “the Palestinians have a pragmatic ...

The Rule of Law in Israel

-In a number of cities “intransigent registrars and rabbis” are refusing to recognize state-sanctioned conversions to Judaism, and it is ...

Photography in Focus

-In “Israel Through My Lens�, David Rubinger “gives a spirited account of his six-decade, seven-war career as Time-Life’s photographer in ...