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Conversion Authority

A Conversion Authority rabbi gives a lesson on Judaism to people undergoing conversion in Jerusalem, Israel on January 3, 2022. (Courtesy of the Conversion Authority)
May 28, 2025, 11:20 pm
Ahead of Shavuot, thousands of converts remain unrecognized by state, stuck in limbo
Knesset committee looks at difficulties faced by those seeking official acknowledgment of conversion, with only half of those who start process each year managing to complete it
By Rossella Tercatin
File - Oded Forer, chair of Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, attends a committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on January 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
January 23, 2024, 4:34 pm
Government failure to arrange circumcisions delays conversion to Judaism for 98 men
A soldier fighting in Gaza nearly spent NIS 7,000 of his own money to finalize the process, an activist representing him says
By Canaan Lidor
File: Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau (L) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef convene an emergency meeting against a new proposal to overhaul the conversion to Judaism system, on June 3, 2018. (Courtesy of the Chief Rabbinate spokesperson)
May 25, 2023, 9:41 am
As demand for Orthodox Jewish conversion soars, the number of successful cases dips
The government’s protracted process is not appealing to most of the half-million Israelis who are not recognized as Jewish by the Rabbinate
By Canaan Lidor
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) receives an invitation to the COP28 climate summit in November in Dubai from Mohamed Al Khaja, the UAE ambassador to Israel, May 25, 2023 (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
May 23, 2023, 1:33 pm
Daily Briefing May 23: Netanyahu finally gets UAE invite, but not the one he wanted
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman brings headlines from the annual Herzliya Conference; religion reporter Canaan Lidor on stymied conversions and dying European communities
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: A man examines his pants with a magnifying glass (Juleta Martirosyan; iStock by Getty Images)
May 19, 2023, 10:41 am
A single absentee mohel is thwarting dozens of converts at very end of their journey
The government’s Conversion Authority has a long backlog of men waiting for months for a 10-second circumcision inspection to be considered Jewish
By Canaan Lidor
Illustrative: An Israeli rabbinical court reviews a conversion case. (Flash90)
November 28, 2022, 11:35 pm
Report: Likud agrees to pass bill to end recognition of non-Rabbinate conversions
Haredi parties said to demand measure to overturn High Court rulings that accepted conversions performed by other established communities; Reform movement slams proposal
By Judah Ari Gross
Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau visits the Neve Shmuel High School in Efrat, on October 17, 2021. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
August 23, 2022, 2:37 am
Chief rabbi held up conversions as leverage against government reform, group claims
Lau only started signing documents once coalition’s reforms fell apart, according to religious rights group Itim; chief rabbi confirms faster pace but denies political motivations
By Judah Ari Gross
Illustrative image: A woman in a conversion court. (Flash90)
December 29, 2021, 10:23 pm
Liberman issues warning to chief rabbi as Knesset vote on conversion reform delayed
Finance minister tells Lau he must fulfill terms of his job or could be ousted; plenum vote on bill pushed off two weeks due to lack of support
By ToI Staff
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau attends a ceremony of the Israeli police for the Jewish new year at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem on September 5, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
December 29, 2021, 1:05 pm
Chief rabbi freezes all conversions to Judaism in protest of planned reforms
David Lau tells PM framework being proposed by religious affairs minister will split the Jewish people
By Stuart Winer and ToI Staff
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