From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Chief rabbi: Rabbinate does accept Lookstein’s conversions
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAshkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau says Israel’s Chief Rabbinate recognizes conversions performed by New York’s Rabbi Haskel Lookstein — a differing stance from Petah Tikva rabbinical court, the Orthodox Jewish website Kikar Hashabbat says.
The court’s refusal to accept the conversion by Lookstein of a new immigrant to Israel and its implicit questioning of the rabbi’s Orthodox credentials were met with angry disbelief across the Diaspora.
The high media exposure came in no small part because Lookstein also converted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and officiated at her 2009 wedding to media mogul Jared Kushner.
In a letter to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Lau says there will be a hearing tomorrow on the issue.
The Times of Israel Community.