Law of Return

Rabbi Gershom, second left, prepares to read the Torah during a Shabbat service among the Abayudaya Jewish community, in a village near Mbale, eastern Uganda, July 2, 2016. (AFP/Michael O'Hagan)

June 14, 2018, 11:42 pm

Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily blocks deportation of Ugandan Jew

Visa for Kibita Yosef expires Thursday, but court says state must first explain why it won't allow members of Abayudaya community to immigrate

By JTA

Ugandan Jews carrying Torah scrolls (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon via JTA)

June 13, 2018, 2:09 pm

How dare Israel deny a Ugandan Jew citizenship!

When your community has been practicing Judaism for 100 years, nobody should question your right to make aliyah

By Noah Libson

A Ugandan Abayudaya Jew leans forward to touch a Torah scroll carried by Enosh Keki Mainah, 23, left, during Shabbat services at the synagogue in Nabugoya, Uganda, on March 3, 2002. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim/File)

June 3, 2018, 10:29 pm

Conservative movement to petition court after refusal to recognize Ugandan Jews

Rabbi Andrew Sacks accuses interior minister of 'placing political considerations above the law' and trying to block their immigration to Israel

By TOI staff

Jewish Ugandan women carry Torah scrolls in Nabagoye, Uganda (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon)

June 2, 2018, 5:15 am

Conservative movement outraged by reports that Israel is blocking Ugandan Jews

Rabbi says rejection of the community converted under his denomination's auspices, 'is completely inconsistent with more than two decades of Israeli practice'

By Josefin Dolsten

Illustrative: New immigrants to Israel disembarking a plane in Tel Aviv, on August 17, 2016. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

February 7, 2018, 9:06 pm

Jose Caro, leader of Hispanic immigrants to Israel, dies at 62

Argentina-born attorney founded and headed many organizations that help Spanish speakers in Israel, initiated culture projects

By JTA

About 100 "Bnei Menashe" (Sons of Menashe) from India landed at Ben Gurion Airport, on June 25, 2015, immigrating to Israel (Flash90)

August 28, 2017, 11:10 pm

Israel mulling outreach to ‘emerging’ Jewish communities

Government committee to propose easing visa regulations for visitors with Jewish roots to tour, study in Israel

By Josefin Dolsten

Efrat's Rabbi Shlomo Riskin officiates at a conversion examination for the Giyur Kahalacha conversion court, November 2015. (courtesy)

May 11, 2017, 10:49 pm

Bill would end state recognition of private Orthodox conversions

Legislation presented to Knesset seeks to circumvent Supreme Court ruling that Interior Ministry must list converts as Jews

By TOI staff

In this March 17, 2017 photo, Jose Luis Garcia embraces and cries as he says goodbye to his little brother that departs to Bogota on his way to Israel, at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

March 23, 2017, 7:43 am

After bureaucracy battle, 9 Venezuelan converts immigrate to Israel

New arrivals fly in after fight for government recognition, with a stopover in Colombia for a second ritual conversion

By Daniel Estrin and Joshua Goodman

Illustrative: People stand in line to go through passport control at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Israel, September 21, 2008. (photo credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

February 9, 2017, 1:57 am

How Israel’s travel bans are — and aren’t — like Trump’s

Semi-bans on entry to Israel by citizens from some Arab states and asylum seekers have been maintained for years, but the law is often not enforced

By Andrew Tobin

The single best way to protect your child from predators is to simply have a talk with him or her about safe body practices and personal space, say activists. (iStock Getty Images)

December 4, 2016, 7:45 am

With pedophiles seeking sanctuary in Israel, one way parents can protect kids

Best thing families can do to defend children against sexual abuse, say activists, is to talk about it

By Melanie Lidman

Star of David necklace (image via Shutterstock)

December 1, 2016, 11:37 am

Most Jews don’t want rabbis to determine who is Jewish — study

Participants say culture and peoplehood most significant aspects of Judaism, trumping religion and ancestry

By JTA and TOI staff

Illustrative: As part of a B'chol Lashon initiative, in anticipation of the construction of a new synagogue in Nabagoye, Uganda, the women and children there were given the honor of transferring the Torahs from the old synagogue to a temporary home. (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon via JTA)

September 16, 2016, 5:13 am

Though eligible to come to Israel, Ugandan Jews say new local synagogue is ‘our Jerusalem’

2,000-strong community set to meet Friday for first prayer services in new house of worship -- and to share it with Muslims and Christians

By Josefin Dolsten

Nikolay Liskov's 76-year-old grandmother recently admitted that she was Jewish. (Courtesy)

September 11, 2016, 12:06 pm

Ukrainians dig for Jewish roots as means of escape from war-torn country

Amid worsening circumstances, immigration to Israel is an increasingly alluring prospect for desperate citizens

By Julie Masis

Rabbi Shlomo Amar, January 2013. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

August 8, 2016, 3:05 pm

Jerusalem’s chief rabbi among 220 naturalized by Spain

Shlomo Amar receives Spanish nationality on Friday; over 4,300 Sephardic Jews have exercised new law of return

By JTA

Head of Itim Rabbi Seth Farber and Supreme Court petitioner Martina Ragacova at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, June 30, 2015. (courtesy Itim)

March 31, 2016, 9:29 pm

State must recognize private Orthodox conversions, court says

Landmark ruling means rabbinate will no longer have sole control over who can be recognized as a Jew for citizenship purposes in Israel

By Adiv Sterman