RA Celebrates Israel High Court Decision Affirming Conservative/Masorti and Reform Conversions

for the Law of Return

Our Rabbinical Assembly celebrates the decision yesterday of Israel's High Court that affirms Conservative/Masorti and Reform conversions to Judaism, performed in Israel, are valid for the purposes of the Law of Return.

The vote of the expanded nine-justice panel maintains a nearly two-decade Israeli practice of recognizing for the Law of Return Jews who convert under the auspices of either movement, and rebukes recent Knesset efforts to restrict religious freedom in Israel. The ruling ends a 15-year appeal that began when 12 people converted to Judaism through the Conservative/Masorti movement. This was a very long time coming. Not swift justice, but sweet and righteous just the same.

We learn in Jeremiah (29:14) “And I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will return your captivity and gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will return you to the place whence I exiled you.”

We call on all parties in Israel to respect the decision of the Court and to proactively protest attempts to legislate against religious freedom in Israel, as well as Jewish communities abroad. Click here for the shareable statement on our website.

Additional Resources:

Our colleague, Andy Sacks, has written a piece on the real-world implications of the High Court's ruling. Read it on our website here.

You may also read the statement from Masorti Israel (in Hebrew).

Media Coverage:

This ruling has garnered significant media attention, including a piece in The New York Times quoting our CEO Jacob Blumenthal and a piece in The Times of Israel and a piece in The Forward citing our statement.