Conversion

'Kotsuji's Gift': The Japanese scholar who rescued Jewish refugees during World War II - review

The picture is cropped. A Japanese man standing to one side has been cut away. That man is Kotsuji, and the book is the long work of putting him back.

|ByRAFFI CROUSE
A JEWISH GIRL and her Chinese friends in the Shanghai Ghetto, 1945, from the collection of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
A GREEK Orthodox priest holds up a bible during the Holy Friday service at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St George in Coptic Cairo on May 3, 2024.

Christian converts still face discrimination, arrests in Egypt, US State Dept. confirms

American estimates suggest that around 10% of Egypt’s population was Christian as of 2022, though the exact figures are difficult to gather, as noted by the report.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
A general view of Jerusalem's Old City shows the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in the foreground as the Dome of the Rock, located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, is seen in the background.

Grapevine, May 29, 2026: Meaningful conversation

Movers and shakers in Israeli society

|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
THE EXPECTATION that citizens should roam the length and breadth of the country in order to find an appointment slot somewhere to renew a passport is preposterous.

Proposed Law of Return amendment sparks debate over conversion standards in Israel

Religious coalition lawmakers frame the bill as a return to halachic conversion standards, while opponents say it would hand the religious establishment greater control over Jewish identity

|ByGABRIEL COLODRO/THE MEDIA LINE

Jewish-American basketball player: Shaked prefers giving citizenship to oligarchs than to me

Jared Armstrong, 24, cannot play his sport in Israel because his visa has expired and he hasn’t been granted Israeli citizenship - his conversion has come under question.

MAY 3, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Jewish-American basketball player Jared Armstrong

Are Israel's kashrut, conversion reforms moving forward?

While the State of Israel in 2022 may not yet be fully redeemed, these words do provide a certain sense of optimism and renewal. 

APRIL 14, 2022ByALAN ROSENBAUM
GABI GLUCK, owner of Caya Specialty Coffee in Ra’anana, holds Tzohar’s kashrut certification.

Kahana attacked by senior Orthodox American rabbis

“We wrote the letter not as an attack but as a policy disagreement and a concern about the law as written," said OU vice president Rabbi Moshe Hauer.

APRIL 6, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Minister of Religious Affairs Matan Kahana arrives to a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on September 5, 2021.

Religious services minister visits Colleyville, other Jewish communities to garner support

I sincerely hope and want that every Jew, wherever they may be in Israel or around the world will strongly identify with their nation-state," said Religious Affairs minister Matan Kahana.

MARCH 25, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana is seen at the Colleyville synagogue in Texas, on March 24, 2022.

Save a practicing Jewish family from being deported to Pakistan - opinion

This family has lived only as a Jewish family, including celebrating Shabbat and all Jewish festivals. The children have been raised Jewish. They want to make aliyah.

MARCH 6, 2022ByJOAN, DON SHRENSKY
FAMILY MEMBERS pose for a photo in 2016 when they were still in Pakistan.

Orthodox Jewish umbrella org. opposes conversion reform, Kotel deal

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett listened attentively to the words of the representatives of the organizations and agreed to continue the dialogue on the various issues.

FEBRUARY 23, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is seen meeting with the Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization Am Echad, on February 23, 2022.

Israel’s never-ending ‘Who Is a Jew?’ saga - opinion

The “Who is a Jew” issue waxes and wanes as a communal priority; at the moment it appears to be waning.

FEBRUARY 21, 2022ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL / JTA
Haredim protest in Jerusalem against the conscription of ultra-Orthodox youth into the army.

Controversial conversion reform advances in Knesset

The goal of the legislation is to make the conversion more accessible and welcoming.

FEBRUARY 20, 2022ByGIL HOFFMAN
RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS Minister Matan Kahana address the Knesset plenum last month.

Religion state reforms will strengthen halacha - opinion

Modifications to kashrut and conversion systems represent a key opportunity to address critical issues in Jewish practice that demand change.

FEBRUARY 12, 2022ByKENNETH BRANDER
ISRAEL’S SEPHARDI Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends a rally against Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana’s conversion and kashrut reforms plan, at the International Convention Center, on February 1.

Basketball player who converted to Judaism with a Conservative rabbi denied Israeli citizenship

Rabbi Michael Beals who supervised Armstrong’s conversion called the decision by Israel’s government “racist” as Armstrong is Black.

FEBRUARY 10, 2022BySHIRA HANAU/JTA
Jared Armstrong, center, appealed the Israeli Interior Ministry's denial of his application for Israeli citizenship but his appeal was denied Wednesday.