Conversion

Argentina's Sephardi chief rabbi reaffirms 100-year-old ruling on conversions, sparks controversy

A controversial ruling in Argentina reaffirms a 100-year-old conversion ban, fueling tensions between Orthodox and non-Orthodox movements.

JANUARY 21, 2026|ByJUAN MELAMED/JTA

Facade of Templo de la Libertad synagogue, Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 2, 2018

A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds up a portrait of him in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026.

Maduro has claimed Jewish ancestry, here is what is known - explainer

Maduro has cited Sephardic Jewish roots, but his own statements and the public record leave his Jewish status unconfirmed.

JANUARY 4, 2026|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

DESPITE BEING fully recognized by the Chief Rabbinate, many Orthodox converts are living in legal and social limbo, denied citizenship, as they face systemic bureaucracy and discrimination at the Interior Ministry. Here, women pray at the Western Wall.

Recognized by the rabbinate, Orthodox converts trapped in legal limbo over Israeli citizenship

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: “Why do I have to keep proving myself? Am I a second-class Jew?” said an Orthodox converted Jewish woman in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

DECEMBER 27, 2025|ByBATSHEVA SHULMAN

Kai Balin on a journey to explore Orthodox Judaism

When is it enough?

"But the more I pushed toward Orthodoxy, the more I realized the driving force wasn’t spiritual longing, it was the pressure to satisfy an external standard."

DECEMBER 22, 2025|ByKAI BALIN

Top British Jewry group tells Smotrich to leave Europe, calls him 'disgrace'

In a tweet, in Hebrew, the Board of Deputies said that it rejected Smotrich’s “disgusting ideology that promotes hatred.”

FEBRUARY 9, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Head of the Religious Zionist Party MK Bezalel Smotrich gives a press statement at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on May 26, 2021.

An accepting attitude: The real conversion reform we need - opinion

There is one key point that has been overlooked amid all the bickering: our attitude toward those who do choose to convert, which is no less in need of improvement.

JANUARY 27, 2022ByMICHAEL FREUND

YOUNG CHINESE men study Torah in Yeshivat Hamivtar in Gush Etzion, preparing for their Orthodox conversion.

Majority of Israeli public believes conversion process needs a change

A survey was published that showed the opinions of the Israeli public regarding conversions.

JANUARY 13, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

PROTESTERS GATHER outside the Chief Rabbinate offices in Jerusalem, against the Rabbinate’s 2016 disqualification of American rabbis’ conversions

A Jewish convert’s hunger strike for Israeli citizenship

David Ben Moshe is Orthodox, married to an Israeli, and a father of two, but that is not enough for Israel's Interior Ministry. So he protested.

JANUARY 9, 2022ByPEGGY CIDOR

David Ben Moshe: A Hunger Strike for Israeli citizenship

I love Israel and will always defend it, but the treatment that I have received since applying for citizenship, my automatic right as a Jew, is an embarrassment.

JANUARY 6, 2022ByDAVID BEN MOSHE

Storm sparked as Tzohar rabbi recommended to head Conversion Authority

Rabbi Benayahu Brunner, a member of Tzohar and a judge in rabbinical courts, has been appointed to head the Conversion Authority.

JANUARY 5, 2022ByTZVI JOFFRE

A conversion, a surfboard, and a pilgrimage to Nazareth

Although I’ve been surfing for most of my life, I’ve never done much surf travel. Seizing this opportunity, I extended my trip. My plan was to have three days of vacation and one day of work.

JANUARY 1, 2022ByHAYIM LEITER