Registration

Where to go? | Who must come? | What to bring? | What is done there? | Verification of Spouse's Jewishness | Bet Din Without Study in Ulpan |

The conversion process begins by opening a conversion file in one of the religious conversion courts, or by registering with one of the Ulpanim (conversion study institutes) located throughout the country.
Following are a number of guidelines for opening a conversion file. If you are converting together with your spouse or with your children, you must open a separate conversion file for each family member.

To read about the conversion process for non-Israeli citizens, click here.

Where to go?
In Israel, there are four regions in which there are rabbinic conversion courts, and administrative offices where you can submit your application to convert:

Southern region: located in Kiriat Gat
Jerusalem region: located in the Jerusalem rabbinic courts.
Central region: located in the rabbinic courts in Tel Aviv.
Haifa and the North: registrar is located in the offices of the rabbinic courts in Haifa, and the Rabbinic court panels sit in Haifa and Kiryat Shmoneh

Minor children converting not with their biological parents (as is often the case in adoptions) should apply to a special Conversion Court for Minors located in Merkaz Shapira, near Kiriat Gat, no matter where they live in the country.

You may apply to convert only with the registrar of the rabbinic court of the region in which you reside, as recorded on your teudat zehut (identification card). If you want to transfer to a court not in the region in which you reside or are studying, you will need to petition to the rabbinic court for conversion. In special cases, such as groups of soldiers, youth groups, residents of absorption centers, etc. - the entire ulpan (conversion study institute) may be sent as a group to the registrar regardless of where the applicants live. In addition, there are special panels based in Jerusalem and Netanya for applicants of Ethiopian descent. Those panels occaisionally visit other cities as well.

Who must come?
Applicants for conversion should appear in person to register. If you are unable to appear in person to open your file, a representative to whom you will have given all your necessary documents may appear on your behalf. We strongly recommend that you supply him/her with a valid power-of-attorney.) You will not be able to continue the registration process, however, until you will have met and been interviewed by the registrar or his representative. If you are married to a Jew or involved in a romantic relationship with a Jew, your Jewish partner must be involved in your conversion process, and he/she should accompany you throughout.

What must you bring when you register?
1. Four passport pictures.

2. Your identity card with the "nispach" (addendum) or your passport, plus a photocopy of same. If you are married, you must bring the same for him/her.

3. A Registration Summary (Tamtzit Rishum) from the population registrar that was issued within the past month. In order to obtain the Summary, you will need to take your identity card to your local branch of the Interior Ministry and fill out the form for 'A request for documentation from the Population Registrar' ('Bakasha l'matan ti'ud mimirsham ha'uchlusin'). In the space for reason for request, fill out: 'opening a conversion file'. If someone else will be going to the office on your behalf, he will need both his and your original identity cards, as well as your power-of-attorney. If this person is not a close relative, the power-of-attorney must be signed by a lawyer. The same service is provided in some branches of the post office and on the Interior Ministry's website.

4. A resume, which includes your motives (religious, social, personal, familial) for conversion. You should note any connections you have or had with a Jewish community in Israel or in the diaspora, all Jewish relatives, previous courses of Jewish religious study, and ties to religious families. Try not to be cut and dry. Describe your feelings, your hopes, your reservations and doubts, and write from the heart. If you have applied for conversion in Israel or in the diaspora in the past, mention this fact, including the place where you applied, and the results of your application.

5. Recommendations, which will attest to your sustained interest in Judaism. If, for example, you studied about Judaism in the past, either in Israel or abroad, ask your teacher to write you a recommendation; if you belong to a Jewish community or you occasionally go to synagogue, ask the Rabbi or gabbai to write one for you; if you sometimes are a guest in the home of a religious or traditional family on Shabbat or the festivals, request that they write you a recommendation. If you are presently married to a Jew or romantically involved with one whom you plan to marry, bring similar recommendations for him/her as well. (Note: The bet din will want to know that after your conversion you will lead an observant life style. One's spouse, of course, will be a major factor in your ability to do so. He/she, therefore, may well be scrutinized during your conversion process almost as closely as you will be.) It is best if you translate recommendations written in a language other than Hebrew . If you don't yet have recommendations, don't worry: your interest in converting is all that is necessary at this stage.

6. If the candidate is under age 18, both his parents must agree to his converting. If he is over the age of ten, his own written consent is required as well. A parent can give consent by appearing before the bet din to sign the necessary documents, or by signing a notarized declaration of consent. If a parent is abroad, he can make a declaration of consent at the nearest Israeli consulate. If a parent cannot be located or if his/her consent cannot be obtained, one may file a request to the civil family court, and its approval will be acceptable in lieu of the parents' consent.

What happens there?
Opening a file: In addition to paying a fee and submitting the necessary documents, you will be asked to complete a request form which includes the following items: your name, your parents' names, your age, religion, family status, profession, place of birth, and place of residence.

An interview with a bet din (rabbinic court) officer: After opening a file, you will be invited to the office of the local bet din for an initial interview with an officer of the bet din. In order to save time and unnecessary travel, contact the officer of the bet din in advance, so that you can come in to open your file at a time when he is available to conduct your interview as well. In some religious courts, special court officers are assigned to converts from different countries of origin. During the interview, the court officer will read your resume and the recommendations you submit, talk with you, and try to get to know you. Though romantic involvement with a Jew is a legitimate reason for initially becoming interested in Judaism, the court officer will expect to hear that you want to convert because you now want to be Jewish, even if that romantic relationship were to end. At the end of your discussion, the court officer will describe to you the various steps in the conversion process, and refer you to a conversion ulpan (study institute). The officer cannot reject your application for conversion without consultation with the court. A person whose application is rejected can submit an appeal in writing to the court, citing grounds and reasons for appeal.

Referral to a conversion ulpan: If you are already studying in an ulpan, you may continue studying there. If you haven't yet begun studying, the receptionist will refer you to the regional supervisor of conversion ulpans. S/he will place you in an ulpan that is taught in an appropriate language and is as close as possible to your place of residence.

Verification of Spouse's Jewishness
If you immigrated to Israel with a Jewish spouse whom you married in your country of origin (and your spouse was not born in Israel), the officer of the bet din will request confirmation that s/he is Jewish. Usually, you will be permitted to begin your course of study even while this matter is still being resolved.

Certification of Jewish status can be obtained from the local rabbi (if there is no doubt about Jewish status), or from the local rabbinic court (if verification of certain documents is necessary). There may be a fee charged for this service. The length of time this will take take depends on the person doing the investigation, its location, and he documentation required. In the process, the investigator will want to establish if your spouse's mother was Jewish. He may use documents you presented to the bet din, original birth certificates of the person in question, his mother and grandmother, his parents' and/or grandparents' marriage certificate or ketuba, or other documents which indicate Jewish lineage. He may want to meet and talk with your spouse's mother and/or maternal grandmother. Old family photos of religious ceremonies, family gravestones with Jewish symbols, etc. can also be offered as evidence. If your partner has relatives on his mother's side, in Israel or abroad, who are recognized as Jews, tell the rabbinate about them so that they can be interviewed. Important: If any documents exist of Jewish marriages or divorces of your spouse's mother's relatives - performed in Israel - this entire process will probably be significantly simplified, or even superfluous.

Bet Din Without Study in Ulpan
If you are sufficiently Jewishly knowledgeable and observant, you may be exempt from many of the steps that generally precede one's appearance before bet din. You still will need to be interviewed by a representative of bet din, and you will need to submit personal recommendations. You may, however, then apply to the Director of Conversion Courts for permission to appear before the bet din. This special dispensation is sometimes granted to converts who have been raised in a religious community or observed a Jewish way of life without knowing they were not Jewish, or who have studied privately for an extended period of time. Non- citizens will still have to receive approval from the vaadat charigim (comittee for exceptions) before meeting the Beit Din.

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