A foreign citizen who converts in Israel will have to deal with a number of government offices. The Rabbinate determines the criteria for the religious conversion, and the Ministry of the Interior is in charge of everything having to do with citizenship. According to the directives of the Ministry of the Interior the only people who can normally convert in Israel are (a) an Israeli citizen or (b) someone qualified to be an immigrant-citizen (oleh) but who, for personal reasons, has not yet applied for aliyah (immigrant-citizen) status. (Such a candidate will have to show written authorization from the Jewish Agency that s/he does indeed qualify for aliyah status before beginning the conversion process.)
Foreign laborers or anyone who entered Israel illegally cannot convert here unless their legal status is changed. Permanent residents (holders of a 5-A visa), however, as well as tourists and holders of other legitimate visas (who are not considered foreign laborers) may apply to convert, but they must be approved by a Vaadat Charigim (Committee for Exceptional Cases).
The Vaadat Charigim (Committee for Exceptional Cases)
If you are a non-Jewish foreign citizen and decide to settle in Israel and convert here, you must apply to a Vaadat Charigim (Committee for Exceptional Cases) for permission to appear before the bet din (the rabbinic court that ultimately decides whether to convert a candidate or not). The application to the Committee will be considered only after an interview with a representative of the rabbinic court in the town where you live. The Committee will be made up of a rabbi appointed by the Rabbinic Conversion Court, and officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Legal Department of the Prime Minister’s Office. You probably will never see them. They rarely meet the applicant, and almost always make their decision based solely on written documents and on the oral report of the representative of the rabbinic court who will have interviewed you. The interview with the representative of the rabbinic court, therefore, is extremely important! To help convince him that you are serious, you would do well to give him a written CV (best in Hebrew, but English is acceptable), and at least five letters from people who can describe your (preferably longstanding) interest in Judaism, and/or testify that you lead a traditional Jewish lifestyle. If, for example, you studied Judaism before coming to Israel, ask your teacher for a letter. If you attend/ed a synagogue or belonged to some kind of Jewish community, ask the rabbi or other official. If you have religious Jewish friends with whom you’ve spent shabbat or Jewish holidays, they can write a letter too. It is best to attach a Hebrew translation to any letter written in a foreign language. If you are presently in a relationship with a Jew that could lead to marriage, bring similar letters for him/her.
Please note: Your Jewish partner may be expected to join you at your interview with the representative of the court and at other stages of your conversion process. The Committee and/or the Conversion Court (that will give final approval for your conversion) will want to know that a future spouse will be leading an Orthodox lifestyle, as well, and he/she may be scrutinized during your conversion process almost as closely as you will be.
In addition to the above, it is most advantageous to bring a letter from a leading Orthodox rabbi in your country of origin (even if he doesn’t know you) stating that he has no objection to your being converted in Israel.
There are three key questions that the Committee will almost always ask when considering applications:
• How sincere is the candidate in his/her desire to convert? Is he/she really interested in becoming a religious Jew, or does he/she see conversion just as a short-cut to Israeli citizenship? (The poorer/less-developed one’s home country is, the more skeptical will be the Committee member from the Ministry of the Interior.)
• How ready is the candidate to lead an observant lifestyle? Is he/she prepared to keep shabbat and kashrut (dietary laws), for example?
• How strong is the relationship between the candidate and a Jewish boyfriend/girlfriend? Will that relationship continue after the conversion? (The wider the gap [age or financial] between the couple, the more the Committee will suspect that the relationship is fictitious, or that it is based on inappropriate considerations.)
The Committee’s decision may be a long time in coming, and you’ll have to wait for the Committee’s approval before you can register for a conversion study course. (If it does come, the approval will enable you to extend or change your visa and stay in the country during your period of study.) Should the Committee reject your application, you can appeal to the Director of Vaadat Charigim L’Giyur, and if that doesn’t work, you can apply again if you can meet the Ministry of the Interior’s regular requirements to attain citizenship.
In the meantime, you can apply for a work permit at the Ministry of the Interior and health insurance at any one of the Kupot Cholim (health insurance funds).
A candidate for conversion who lives outside of Israel but intends to settle here can come for a visit and will usually be able to submit his/her application, even if he/she will be returning to his/her county of origin. This can be done by applying to the Rabbinic Conversion Court, being interviewed by its representative, and submitting a CV and letters like those described above. The representative will report the Committee’s decision to the candidate at his/her Israeli address, or via a friend or relative living here. We recommend maintaining contact via a friend or relative because the Committee’s decision may come much later, only after a tourist’s visa will have expired. Should the candidate then wish to remain in Israel, he/she will have to leave the country and re-enter on a new visa (perhaps numerous times). This will not be a concern, of course, if the candidate has a long-term visa and a work permit or other means to support himself while here.
Beginning in April 2008 candidates for conversion have needed two authorizations from the Committee: the first in order to register in an accredited conversion study institute, and the second - given about a year later - in order to appear before the three judges of a rabbinic court that will render the final decision on conversion.
Please note: If one studied in a school – even one that is approved as a conversion institute - prior to receiving the Committee’s authorization to do so, those studies will not be recognized retroactively as the mandatory year of pre-conversion study, and the candidate will probably have to enroll again for another year of study.
What can be done if one is missing letters of recommendation from abroad?
If you cannot obtain letters of recommendation from your country of origin, you should follow an unofficial procedure called “pre-conversion” before officially applying to convert:
• Commit to months of Jewish study. You won’t be able to register officially in a conversion study institute until the Vaadat Charigim gives its approval, but there are study options available while you wait: learn privately with a knowledgeable religious friend; attend classes offered in synagogues; attend classes in other religious institutions.
• Find an Orthodox family in your town that can act as your “adopting family”. Attend synagogue with them, and join them for shabbat and holiday meals.
• Find an Orthodox synagogue that you like. Approach the rabbi or other officials. Tell them who you are and that you would like to attend services and classes. Stay in touch with them.
After a number of months, ask all those people to write letters of recommendation for you. It is important that it be clear from their letters that they are Orthodox Jews. The letters should describe how sincere and serious you have been in your Jewish journey. Details and descriptions of real incidents that demonstrate your sincerity are much more helpful than generalities. Bring those letters to the representative of the Rabbinic Conversion Court at your interview with him, and the procedure for your conversion will then be exactly like that of candidates who did obtain letters from abroad.
Note: The rules governing the Vaadat Charigim are reviewed and changed from time to time. You are advised to consult organizations like ITIM in order to learn about the most recent procedures.
If your application to the Vaadat Charigim is approved, the representative of the bet din will explain to you the procedure for appearing before the bet din that will make the final decision on your conversion. For infomation on your appearance before the bet din, see The Ceremony - The Rabbinical Court section, under "Conversions" on this site.
