“Conversion is not political football” according to Haaretz. Unfortunately, it certainly looks like it’s playing out like a soccer game to the rest of us.

This is a beautiful article, namely because it tries to remind us of something people often forget. Converts are individuals. We are not one collective, united group though we are often treated like one. And all too often we are mistreated by other Jews in actions, words and worse, by a climate that is sometimes anything but accepting of prospective, current and future converts.

Why is it that we mistreat the people who want nothing more than to be one of us? Why do we make them more vulnerable than they already are? And who does this benefit?