The latest article on conversion in the Jerusalem Post offers that Conversion must be taken out of haredi hands, officials say. Make no mistake, this isn’t an argument for secular conversions. The officials cited in the article hope that more moderate Orthodox rabbis can take control of conversion from haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbis who demand converts… Continue reading The Orthodox Wars
ITIM head Seth Farber This article in Haaretz, Jewish Agency resolutions ire liberals, conservatives, piggybacks onto a recent article about recent Jewish Agency resolutions on conversion. This article interviews some of the major players involved in this age-old battle between liberals and conservatives. “Kariv, the Reform rabbi, responded to this by saying that Ne’eman, despite… Continue reading Making Conversions More Accessible?
Alysa Stanton I spotted Rabbinical Student on her way to make history on someone else’s blog. It profiles convert Alysa Stanton who had an Orthodox conversion but found herself more at home in Reform Judaism. “[A Reform congregation] tends to be more welcoming to those who are not born Jewish,” the blogpost quotes. Stanton is… Continue reading She’s a rabbi!
IDF soldier, Igor Lermont will be a new Jew. And then every once in a while, there’s a happy conversion story, no? Check out the latest Jerusalem Post article, Now I feel 100% Jewish, which explores the lives and conversions of IDF soldiers who are not halakhically Jewish. Most of the soldiers are originally from… Continue reading 100% Jewish
I’m currently reading “Converts: Power and Consequences” from the latest issue of Sh’ma. The entirety of the latest issue of Sh’ma was devoted to conversion. For some thoughtful articles on conversion, check it out.
I’ve recently discovered Google Alerts which thankfully, tracks down all the articles on Jewish conversion and beams them into my inbox. I just sit and wait. It seems that most news on conversion has to do with that age old heavy question, “Who is a Jew?” In the latest article, Jewish Agency adopts conversion resolutions,… Continue reading Who is a Jew?
In the Jerusalem Post article, Rabbis stunt Europe’s Jewish growth, rabbis from all over Europe discuss the problems they face when converting non-Jews to Judaism. The article talks about the lack of Jewish infrastructure in certain areas of Europe as well as the Israeli rabbinate’s attempts to control conversion worldwide. “Former French chief rabbi Joseph… Continue reading Europe’s Jewish Growth
It worries me that I’ll be sending my mostly imaginary half-Dominican children to Orthodox day schools when I read articles like this one, Racial Comments ‘Shock’ Principals in Jewish Week.
Check out: Courts to perform secular conversions which bypass rabbinate. Seems everyone’s trying to bypass the Israeli rabbinate these days.
While many were celebrating Obama’s presidency on November 4th, racist opponents started responding with hate crimes on November 5th. Take a look at: “Election spurs ‘hundreds’ of race threats, crimes”. I went to a Taste of Limmud NY session on Thursday where racism was discussed. I was the only non-white person in a group session… Continue reading Spike in hate crimes
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 