Exclusive to TheJC: Reform rabbis approve streamlined conversion process

A person with a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother will not have to convert, under a Reform Movement motion passed on Tuesday.

People with a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother will no longer have to undergo a full conversion process, the UK Assembly of Reform Rabbis has decided today.

At the Assembly’s monthly meeting this afternoon, senior rabbinical figures voted in support of a motion which stated that a person’s Jewish identity would no longer be solely dependent on whether the mother was Jewish.

Instead, a man or woman with a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother could approach their local rabbi – instead of the Beth Din – to discuss “what process, if any, will be undergone before status can be attributed”.

The JC understands that the rabbi or cantor would then make an assessment of the person’s “Jewish life” before making a recommendation to the Beth Din, taking into account the person’s engagement with and understanding of areas including Jewish festivals and Israel… READ MORE

thejc by Sandy Rashty