You may already be deliberating regarding your own conversion or the conversion of your family. You may be considering whether you should actually begin the process, and if so, in which framework. We are happy to assist you in this decision and to present to you the various options and their implications:

• Foregoing the conversion process: your first option, of course, is not to convert at all, and to remain a non-Jew. Judaism historically has not sought to convert others, and has had great respect for non-Jews who live according to a basic ethical code.  By maintaining your present status, you will save time, money, and effort. The disadvantage of this option is that your personal status and that of your children (as it affects marriage, divorce, and burial) will be viewed by the government and by part of Israeli society as significantly different from the status of the majority population. An additional disadvantage is that if a family member wishes to marry a Jew, he or she might find it difficult, as a non-Jew, to be accepted by the spouse or the spouse’s family.

• The Reform or Conservative route: This second option, which is not officially recognized in Israel, involves study, communal identification, and in most cases brit milah and tevila (ritual immersion). The length and seriousness of the course of study, and level of religious and communal commitment which a person is expected to take upon himself, varies according to community and supervising rabbi. The advantage of this route is that it offers a sense of being Jewish without demanding a radical change of lifestyle. On the other hand, since the individual is not converted by a generally accepted Orthodox authority, s/he runs the risk of not being accepted as Jewish by most practicing Orthodox Jews in Israel. Thus, a person converted by a Reform court, will not be considered Jewish by Conservative or Orthodox Jews, or by the Israeli religious establishment. As a result, neither he nor his children will be able to get married, divorced, or buried in Israel as a Jew, via the state institutions.  (A Conservative conversion process will be recognized by Reform Jews, but not by the Orthodox and state institutions.) Additionally, even many non-religious Jews in Israel attach great significance to their children marrying officially-recognized Jews.

• The Orthodox - State route: A third option is Orthodox conversion, the details of which are given on this site. The State of Israel adopted this process as the official means of conversion from a belief that only a conversion that is valid in the eyes of all the Jewish religious movements can preserve Jewish unity. The advantage of such a conversion is that it is accepted by all streams of Judaism and it confers unconditional Jewish status for all matters, including marriage and transfer of Jewish status to one’s children. On the other hand, Orthodox conversion makes the greatest demands regarding the religious life of the convert, which can be a challenging experience for those unaccustomed to religious observance.

For additional information or advice, contact ITIM at 011-9722-648-2205 or, in Israel, at 1-700-500-507