gerim

Being Jewish is a combination of both an ethnicity and of the religion of Judaism. The religion of Judaism does not seek converts,{{Cite news |date=2018-09-17 |title=Rubenstein: Why don't Jews proselytize? |url=https://thecjn.ca/opinion/rubenstein-why-dont-jews-proselytize/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=The Canadian Jewish News |language=en-US}} prospective converts must complete the arduous process without the support present in universalist religions like Christianity or Islam. It is traditional for an individual requesting to begin the process to be denied three times by a rabbi to test their sincerity or even be denied entirely.{{Cite web |title=Rus and the Three Time Rejection Rule |url=https://consumer.crckosher.org/publications/rus-and-the-three-time-rejection-rule/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=cRc Consumer Kosher |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Moss |first=Aron |title=Why Do Rabbis Discourage Conversions? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/248165/jewish/Why-Do-Rabbis-Discourage-Conversions.htm |website=Chabad.org}}{{Cite web |title=Conversion |url=https://www.jfedgmw.org/conversion/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest NJ |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=Lieberman |first=S. Zevulun |date=1988 |title=A Sephardic Ban on Converts |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23259518 |journal=Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=22–25 |issn=0041-0608 |jstor=23259518}} Even once the conversion process has begun, an individual is not guaranteed to be converted if they do not meet the expectations and requirements of their sponsoring rabbi and Jewish court.{{Cite web |last=Levin |first=Einat |date=2009-04-26 |title=Interior Ministry: Beit Din confirmation of US convert not enough |url=https://www.itim.org.il/en/interior-ministry-beit-din-confirmation-of-us-convert-not-enough/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Itim |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din {{!}} FAQs |url=https://scbetdin.com/FAQs |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=scbetdin.com}} Other reasons for denial include a lack of sincerity, mental or physical illness, or living in a place where adhering to Jewish law is impossible.{{Cite web |title=Giyur or jewish conversion: Process of conversion to judaism {{!}} WRAI |url=https://welcome-israel.com/giyur |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=welcome-israel.com |language=en-US}} Once a halakhically valid conversion is completed, it can never be undone and the ger is forever considered to be Jewish, even if their observance wavers or they attempt to convert to another religion. However, some rabbis have ruled that revocation of a conversion is permissible if it is proven the process was not done in accordance with Jewish law or that the convert was insincere in their intentions and beliefs.{{Cite web |last=Fendel |first=Hillel |date=2011 |title=Shas MK Feels Vindicated |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/141848 |access-date= |website=www.israelnationalnews.com}}{{Cite web |title=Let's Talk About Conversion to Judaism and Whether a Conversion Can Be Revoked |url=https://www.kvetchingeditor.com/2021/10/revoke-conversion-to-judaism.html |access-date=2024-12-15}}{{Cite web |title=Nullification of Conversion |url=https://etzion.org.il/en/halakha/yoreh-deah/topics-yoreh-deah/nullification-conversion |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=Yeshivat Har Etzion |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hora'a |first=Rabbonim of the Beis |date=2022-07-30 |title=Conversions and converts - Canceling conversion - Din - Ask the Rabbi |url=https://dinonline.org/2022/07/31/canceling-conversion/ |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=Ask The Rabbi - Dinonline |language=en-US}}

The process in which a gentile (non-Jew) becomes a Jew resembles both naturalization, as well as religious conversion. The convert accepts upon themselves the laws, culture, history, and identity of the Jewish people.{{Cite web |title=UnYeshiva - Choosing the Tribe: Jewish Conversion, Past, Present, Future (Part 2) {{!}} Sefaria |url=https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/538867?lang=bi |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.sefaria.org}}{{Cite web |title=Giyur or jewish conversion: Process of conversion to judaism {{!}} WRAI |url=https://welcome-israel.com/giyur |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=welcome-israel.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Why Is Conversion to Judaism So Hard? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3002/jewish/Why-Is-Conversion-to-Judaism-So-Hard.htm |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}} As such, there is no way to become a Jew without going through a recognized Jewish court.{{Cite web |title=How to Convert to Judaism - What to Expect at a Conversion |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2972927/jewish/How-to-Convert-to-Judaism.htm |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}} Following the completion of the process, the convert is given several documents which validate the completion of their giyyur (conversion).{{Cite web |title=Reproduce a conversion certificate |url=https://www.gov.il/en/service/conversion_certificate |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=GOV.IL |language=en}}

Jewish converts, unlike Christians and Muslims, are not simply considered believers in Judaism, but rather full-fledged members of the Jewish people. Due to this, some prominent rabbis, such as Rabbi Shlomo Goren, have taken the stance that religious belief and observance is not the sole determining factor in becoming a member. However, others, such as Rabbi Saadia Gaon, held that “our nation is a nation only by virtue of its religious laws”, indicating that religious belief is a core element of the Jewish nation.{{Cite web |date=2019-04-24 |title=Conversion: Joining a Religion or Joining a Nation? |url=https://en.idi.org.il/articles/26963#:~:text=On%20the%20other%20hand,%20a,not%20a%20precondition%20for%20conversion. |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=en.idi.org.il |language=en}}

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, a prominent Dutch-Israeli rabbi and ger tzedek states, regarding conversion, that:

A Gentile who converts to Judaism miraculously becomes part of the people of Israel. Unlike with Christianity, this does not just mean that the Gentile now shares the beliefs of Judaism, but rather that he or she literally becomes the seed of the Avot ["forefathers"] and Imahot ["foremothers"]. For this to happen, a quasi-biological miracle is required. The Gentile needs to be reborn as a direct descendant of Avraham and Sara.{{Cite web |title=Conversion is not about Halachah but about Jewishness |url=https://www.cardozoacademy.org/thoughtstoponder/conversion-is-not-about-halachah-but-about-jewishness/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=David Cardozo Academy |language=en-US}}

File:Crowned man, Zafar.jpg, an Arab convert to Judaism.|left]]

Non-Jews have been joining the Jewish people for thousands of years, with one of the earliest instances being Ruth, a Moabite ancestor of King David.{{Cite web |date=2017-02-01 |title=Ruth, The First Convert: A Model of Welcome - Reconstructing Judaism |url=https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/article/ruth-first-convert-model-welcome/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |language=en-US}} In the Book of Ruth, she declared her loyalty to the Jewish people to Naomi, her mother-in-law, by saying:

Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.{{Cite web |title=The Story of Ruth in the Bible |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111916/jewish/The-Story-of-Ruth-in-the-Bible.htm#:~:text=%E2%80%9CEntreat%20me%20not%20to%20leave,aught%20but%20death%20part%20thee |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Ellenson |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQ6KKn0qQEcC |title=Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa |last2=Gordis |first2=Daniel |date=2012-01-18 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-8103-9 |page=155 |language=en}}

It is estimated that a significant portion of the genome of diaspora Jewish groups is of non-Israelite genetic descent, indicating that these communities accepted in many converts following the expulsion of Jews from Israel by the Romans.{{Cite web |title=Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into Ashkenazi Jewish History |url=https://hms.harvard.edu/news/ancient-dna-provides-new-insights-ashkenazi-jewish-history |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=hms.harvard.edu|date=30 November 2022 }}{{Cite web |author1=Stephanie Pappas |date=2012-08-06 |title=Genes Tell Intricate Tale of Jewish Diaspora |url=https://www.livescience.com/22137-genetics-jewish-diaspora.html |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=livescience.com |language=en}} These converts were fully assimilated into the Jewish people, adopting all aspects of Jewish culture and identity.{{Cite web |title=Conversion History: Ancient Period |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/conversion-history-ancient-period/#:~:text=Gerim%20often%20assimilated%20into%20the,to%20God%20through%20such%20marriages. |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}

Though extremely uncommon, entire people groups have converted to Judaism throughout history, notably the Subbotnik Jews,{{Cite web |title=Subbotnik Jews |url=https://www.shavei.org/communities-2/subbotniks/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Shavei Israel |language=en-US}} Bene Menashe,{{Cite web |last=Scarr |first=Cindy |date=2024-03-26 |title=One Tribe Lost and Found - Mishpacha Magazine |url=https://mishpacha.com/one-tribe-lost-and-found/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |language=en-US}} Jews of San Nicandro,{{Cite news |last=Eichner |first=Itamar |date=2018-04-24 |title=The Jews-by-choice of San Nicandro, Italy |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5239414,00.html |access-date=2024-11-19 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}} and the Himrayite Kingdom.{{Cite web |date=2012-01-17 |title=The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Kingdom in Arabia - Ideas {{!}} Institute for Advanced Study |url=https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2011/bowersock-jewish-arabia |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=www.ias.edu |language=en}} Many of these groups have gone on to intermarry with the predominately Israelite-descended Jewish community.

The only recorded case of alleged forced conversion to Judaism was John Hyrcanus' forced conversion of the Edomites during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. However, some scholars believe this conversion to have been voluntary.{{Cite journal |last=Levin |first=Yigal |date=2020 |title=The Religion of Idumea and Its Relationship to Early Judaism |journal=Religions |language=en |volume=11 |issue=10 |pages=487 |doi=10.3390/rel11100487 |doi-access=free |issn=2077-1444}}

{{Main articles|Conversion to Judaism|Who is a Jew?}}

Prospective Jewish converts must undergo a rigorous process which bears similarity to both naturalization and a religious conversion. Traditionally, this involves moving into a Jewish community, a year or more of Jewish education under a rabbi, meeting with a recognized beit din (Jewish court), and going through with the final rituals (which differ between males and females slightly).{{Cite web |title=How to Convert to Judaism |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-conversion-process/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=adubin |title=GPS Policies and Procedures |url=https://judaismconversion.org/geirus-policies-and-standards/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Judaism Conversion |language=en-US}}

Other requirements generally include forming bonds within the Jewish community, learning Hebrew, demonstrating ethical behavior, involvement in Jewish communal life, and maintaining a positive relationship with their sponsoring rabbi.

Married couples must convert together and commit to sending their children to 12 years of Jewish schooling.{{Cite web |last=The Rabbinical Council of America |date=2007 |title=GPS Policies and Procedures |url=https://judaismconversion.org/geirus-policies-and-standards/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Judaism Conversion |language=en-US}}

{{Main articles|Minhag|Nusach (Jewish custom)}}

Converts generally are advised to adopt the minhagim (such as Ashkenazi or Sephardi) of their sponsoring rabbi or community, however many also choose their own minhag independently.{{Cite web |title=Judaism, Lessons, Times {{!}} Yeshiva.co |url=https://www.yeshiva.co/ask/2156 |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=Yeshiva Site |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Waldman |first=Pinchas |title=Ba'al Teshuva, Convert – Which Customs to Follow? |date=September 2017 |url=https://aish.com/baal-teshuva-convert-which-customs-to-follow/}}

Throughout history, there have always been Jewish figures who opposed conversion and converts for a variety of reasons.{{Cite web |title=Relating to the Convert (2) Biblical and Rabbinic Attitudes Towards Conversion |url=https://etzion.org.il/en/halakha/yoreh-deah/topics-yoreh-deah/relating-convert-2-biblical-and-rabbinic-attitudes-towards |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Yeshivat Har Etzion |language=en}} As Jewish conversion is not a right, but rather a privilege, arguments against conversion range in reasoning from the possibilities of watering down traditional Judaism to issues regarding the absorption of newcomers into an identity and culture entirely foreign to them.{{Cite web |date=2014-11-25 |title='Daf Yomi': 'Converts Are As Harmful to the Jewish People As a Leprous Scab on the Skin' |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/daf-yomi-106 |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Tablet Magazine}} Other arguments cite convert's potential zealotry when observing mitzvot (commandments), thus creating an atmosphere of denigration towards born-Jews who aren't as stringent.{{Cite web |title=Thou Shalt Not Oppress the Ger {{!}} jewishideas.org |url=https://www.jewishideas.org/article/thou-shalt-not-oppress-ger |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.jewishideas.org}}

{{Further information|Jewish identity|Jewish peoplehood|Jewish civilization|Who is a Jew?}}

Throughout Jewish history converts have been referred to by a variety of names and titles. Ancient sources and tombstones regularly refer to them as "proselytes", "righteous proselytes", "converts", and some even refer to them using their former identity. For instance, in Mishnah Yadayim 4:4, a convert is referred to as Yehudah Ger Ammoni (Yehudah the Ammonite convert).{{Cite web |last=פלד |first=מיכל |date=2016-01-10 |title=What is the Proper Way to Refer to the Parents of a Convert? |url=https://schechter.edu/what-is-the-proper-way-to-refer-to-the-parents-of-a-convert-responsa-in-a-moment-volume-10-issue-no-4-january-2016/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=The Schechter Institutes}}File:Herod tissot.jpg father was referred to as Antipater the Idumaean due to his Edomite origin.]]

Traditionally, there exists no distinction between ethnicity and religion in Jewish culture.{{Cite web |title=Jewish Religious, Ethnic,and National Identities: Convergences and Conflicts |url=https://dje.jcpa.org/articles2/jewreleth.htm |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=dje.jcpa.org}} Even the modern concepts of ethnicity and religion were not present when Jewish civilization first emerged, making concepts such as "ethnic Jews" and "religious Jews" nonexistent in ancient sources.{{Cite web |title=Is "Jewish" a Race? - …or maybe a nation? Or just an ethnicity? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/498027/jewish/Is-Jewish-a-Race.htm |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2018-10-22 |title=Was the Jew/Gentile Divide about Ethnicity or Religion? |url=https://amymantravadi.com/2018/10/22/jew-gentile-divide-ethnicity-religion/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Amy Mantravadi |language=en-US}}

Similar to the concept of Roman citizenship and Hellenic identity, Jewish identity is one that encompasses a wide range of ethnic, religious, tribal, and national concepts which work together in tandem to form the entire framework of Jewish identity.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Yehudit |date=2021-01-05 |title=The Problem With the Term 'Ethnic Jew' |url=https://www.heyalma.com/the-problem-with-the-term-ethnic-jew/#:~:text=It%20also%20means%20there%20is,the%20ethno-religion%20of%20Judaism. |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Hey Alma |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Jews and Judaism, Religion and Identity - The University of Chicago Divinity School |url=https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/jews-and-judaism-religion-and-identity |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=divinity.uchicago.edu |language=en}} As such, Jewish identity is regularly categorized as an ethnic, religious, or mixed identity when utilizing modern Western understandings of peoplehood.{{Cite web |date=2018-10-24 |title=Ancient Jewish Identity |url=https://www.ancientjewreview.com/read/2018/10/24/ancient-jewish-identity |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=ANCIENT JEW REVIEW |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Religion or Ethnicity? : The Evolution of Jewish Identities {{!}} U-M LSA International Institute |url=https://ii.umich.edu/ii/people/all/z/zvigitel/Religion-or-Ethnicity-The-Evolution-of-Jewish-Identities.html |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=ii.umich.edu |language=en}}

In Israel, all Jews are defined as ethnic Jews, regardless if the individual was born Jewish or converted.{{Cite web |last=Kalman |first=Aaron |title=Supreme Court rules against 'Israeli' ethnicity on ID |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-rules-israeli-ethnicity-doesnt-exist/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2016-03-25 |title=Israelis don't exist |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2016/03/israelis-dont-exist/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}}

Race, much like ethnicity, is not a concept found in traditional Judaism. The concept of a Jewish race is one that emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries. Skin color and other physical features are not determining factors in regards to Jewishness.{{Cite web |title=Are Jews a Race? |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/are-jews-a-race/#:~:text=The%20short%20answer%20is%20no,physical%20or%20biological%20characteristics%20implausible. |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=hersh |date=2022-02-07 |title=Are Jews a Race? It's Complicated - Aish.com |url=https://aish.com/are-jews-a-race-its-complicated/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230106042828/https://aish.com/are-jews-a-race-its-complicated/ |archive-date=2023-01-06 |access-date=2025-01-03 |work=Aish.com |language=en-US}}

Per Jewish law, a convert is like a newborn child, and thus biological parental ties are severed upon their conversion.{{Cite web |title=Must a Convert Honor His Biological Parents? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1473855/jewish/Must-a-Convert-Honor-His-Biological-Parents.htm |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}} Despite this, a convert is still required to honor their parents, as mandated by Jewish law. They are to not, however, maintain close contact.{{Cite web |title=Judaism, Lessons, Times {{!}} Yeshiva.co |url=https://www.yeshiva.co/ask/54811 |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Yeshiva Site |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Ger/Converts- Is a convert obligated to honor and fear his parents? – Shulchanaruchharav.com |url=https://shulchanaruchharav.com/halacha/ger-converts-is-a-convert-obligated-to-honor-and-fear-his-parents/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=shulchanaruchharav.com}}

Converts are not required to mourn the deaths of their gentile parents.{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Rabbi Joe |date=2016-07-13 |title=Mourning Jewishly for a parent as a convert |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/family/187248/mourning-jewishly-for-a-parent-as-a-convert/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Jewish Journal |language=en-US}}

There is no distinction between born-Jews and gerim in the eyes of traditional Jewish law, in most cases.{{Cite web |last=Tilles |first=Yerachmiel |title=FAQ: Converts & Conversion |url=https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/584023/jewish/FAQ-Converts-Conversion.htm#:~:text=If%20you%20had%20a%20conversion,you%20are%20even%20partially%20Jewish. |website=Chabad.org}} The few distinctions that do exist are that a ger cannot sit on a Jewish court in many cases,{{Cite web |date=2009-03-22 |title=May a Convert Serve on a Bet Din for Conversion? |url=https://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2009/03/may-convert-serve-on-bet-din-for.html |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=May a Convert Serve on a Bet Din for Conversion? ~ Hirhurim - Musings}} a ger cannot marry a Kohen (Jewish priest),{{Cite web |title=From the Rav's Desk: Kohen marrying the daughter of converts or the daughter of a gentile father – Shulchanaruchharav.com |url=https://shulchanaruchharav.com/from-the-ravs-desk-kohen-marrying-the-daughter-of-converts-or-the-daughter-of-a-gentile-father/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=shulchanaruchharav.com}} and a ger can never be in a position of absolute authority over born-Jews (such as becoming a monarch).{{Cite web |last=Tabasky |first=Rabbi Chaim |title=Converts becoming rabbis |url=https://www.yeshiva.co/ask/2658 |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Yeshiva Site |language=en}}

Convert status does not extend to the children of converts, as they would be considered born-Jews.{{Cite web |title=Conversion - Halachipedia |url=https://halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Conversion |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=halachipedia.com}}

File:Subbotnik, early 20th century.jpg and tallit, in the early 1900s.]]{{Main articles|Subbotniks|Heresy of the Judaizers}}

Groups of Slavic Christian peasants began to appropriate certain elements of Jewish culture and religion beginning in the 19th century, resulting in persecution and deportation under Tsar Alexander I. Called Subbotniks, many eventually converted to Judaism, and settled in the Land of Israel.{{Cite web |title=Subbotnik Jews - Shavei Israel |url=https://www.shavei.org/communities-2/subbotniks/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241204123709/https://www.shavei.org/communities-2/subbotniks/ |archive-date=2024-12-04 |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.shavei.org |language=en-US}}

Groups of Subbotnik Jews still exist in formerly Soviet countries, such as in the village of Privolnoye, Azerbaijan.{{Cite web |title=Jewish Heritage in Azerbaijan |url=https://jewisheritage.org/jewish-heritage-in-azerbaijan |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=European Jewish Heritage powered by AEPJ |language=en-GB}}

An entire Ukrainian village near Uman converted to Judaism and became Breslov Hasidim. Many were later victims of pogroms committed against the Jewish community in the region during World War I.{{Cite web |title=The Breslov Center |url=https://www.breslov.com/center/article_converts.html |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.breslov.com}}

File:92317 the sigd holiday in jerusalem PikiWiki Israel.jpg in Jerusalem.]]

{{Main articles|Beta Israel|Haymanot}}

Many researchers believe the Beta Israel, much like the Subbotniks, adopted a Jewish identity without formal conversion or were converted by Jews from Yemen who settled in the region during the Middle Ages. Genetic research has shown the group to be closely related to the Cushitic-speaking Agaw people,{{Cite web |title=Who are the Ethiopian Jews? |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/who-are-the-ethiopian-jews#test |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}} however other research indicates an Israelite origin of the community.{{Cite web |last=Digital |first=G. L. P. |date=2015-06-16 |title=Evidence mounts of ancient Jewish roots of Beta Israel Ethiopian Jewry |url=https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/06/16/evidence-mounts-of-ancient-jewish-roots-of-beta-israel-ethiopian-jewry/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Genetic Literacy Project |language=en-US}}

File:Khazar 1.gif

{{Main articles|Khazar Correspondence|Kuzari|Khazars}}

During the Middle Ages, it is believed the nobility of the Khazar Khaganate converted to Judaism. However, the claim is doubted by many researchers. Though there was a confirmed presence of Jews in the kingdom and the existence of Khazar gerim, notably a diaspora community in Spain after the fall of the Khazars,{{Cite web |title=Who Were the Khazars? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5804883/jewish/Who-Were-the-Khazars.htm |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}} there is no confirmed evidence of mass conversion to Judaism.{{Cite web |last=Shabashewitz |first=Dor |date=2023-10-18 |title=Myth about kingdom converting to Judaism is source of pride here |url=https://forward.com/yiddish-world/565632/myth-khazar-kingdom-converting-judaism-pride-astrakhan/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=The Forward |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Stampfer |first=Shaul |date=2013 |title=Did the Khazars Convert to Judaism? |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/547127 |journal=Jewish Social Studies |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=1–72 |doi=10.2979/jewisocistud.19.3.1 |issn=1527-2028|url-access=subscription }}

File:Kuki flag.png flag, featuring the Magen David (Star of David).]]

{{Main articles|Bnei Menashe|Indian Jews in Israel}}

Some Tibeto-Burmese-speaking people on the border between India and Myanmar, such as the Kuki, have begun converting to Judaism due to a belief in descent from a Lost Tribe of Israel, specifically the Tribe of Manasseh. Due to this belief, they've adopted the name Bnei Menashe (Children of Manasseh). They number around 10,000, with half of residing in India, and the other half in Israel.{{Cite web |title=Bnei Menashe |url=https://www.shavei.org/communities-2/bnei-menashe/ |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Shavei Israel |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Bene Menashe |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bene-menashe |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}

File:Rishon LeZion Shlomo Amar with Yosef Yehudah Sherman.JPG, with Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.]]

According to the Pew Research Center, up to 1 in 6 (approximately 1,275,000) Jewish-Americans are gerim.{{Cite news |last=Staff |first=J. |date=2015-05-15 |title=1 in 6 American Jews are converts and 9 other findings in Pew study |url=https://jweekly.com/2015/05/15/1-in-6-american-jews-are-converts-and-9-other-findings-in-pew-study/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240624212818/https://jweekly.com/2015/05/15/1-in-6-american-jews-are-converts-and-9-other-findings-in-pew-study/ |archive-date=2024-06-24 |access-date=2024-12-29 |work=J. |language=en-US}}

Although rare, mass conversions to Judaism have occurred in the United States. For instance, in Show Low, Arizona, 21 individuals converted in September 2023.{{Cite web |last=Elia-Shalev |first=Asaf |date=2023-09-27 |title=The New Jews of Show Low, Arizona: How a pastor parted with Jesus and led his congregation to Judaism |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/09/27/united-states/the-new-jews-of-show-low-arizona-how-a-pastor-parted-with-jesus-and-led-his-congregation-to-judaism#:~:text=United%20States-,The%20New%20Jews%20of%20Show%20Low,%20Arizona:%20How%20a%20pastor,on%20one%20day%20last%20month. |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}

Some prominent American gerim include:

• Reuben Greenberg - First black police chief of Charleston, South Carolina.
• Ivanka Trump - Daughter of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
• Eli HaZe'ev - Vietnam War veteran and victim of the 1980 Hebron terrorist attack.
• Y-Love - Hip-hop artist.
• Louis Ferrante - Former Italian-American mobster.

{{Main articles|Israeli Jews}}

File:A DUTCH CONVERT TO JUDAISM WITH HIS GRANDCHILD IN HIS LAP, STUDYING THE BIBLE ON HIS FARM IN "NAHALAT YITZHAK" TEL AVIV. הולנדי שהתגייר קורא יחד עם נכD597-072.jpg. (1934)|left]]

Since 2016, about 3,000 people convert to Judaism every year in Israel through programs approved by the Chief Rabbinate. Between 1996 and 2021, 101,609 individuals have successfully completed approved conversion programs, with most being Soviet immigrants who were not halakhically Jewish (oftentimes only having one Jewish grandparent).{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Statistical Report on Religion and State in Israel – New Chapters |url=https://en.idi.org.il/articles/49002#:~:text=the%20civil%20service.-,Conversion,these%20countries%20living%20in%20Israel. |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=en.idi.org.il |language=he}}

Converts are eligible under the Law of Return to become Israeli citizens, however only converts through Jewish courts recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel are recognized halakhically as Jewish within the country.{{Cite web |title=The Law of Return |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-law-of-return/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |title=Reform Movement Statement on Conversion Issue / Law of Return Grandchild Clause {{!}} Union for Reform Judaism |url=https://urj.org/press-room/reform-movement-statement-conversion-issue-law-return-grandchild-clause |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=urj.org |language=en}}

Some prominent Israeli gerim include:

• Nissim Black - American-Israeli rapper.
• Amar'e Stoudemire - American-Israeli basketball player.
• Mike Flanagan - Irish-Israeli soldier who defected from the British Army.
• Anastassia Michaeli - Russian-Israeli politician.
• Reuel Abraham - German-Israeli former Luftwaffe pilot during World War II who, after witnessing a massacre of Jews during the Holocaust, feigned illness to get out of combat, donated money to Jewish victims, and made aliyah from Germany.{{Cite web |date=2013-01-25 |title=The Miami News - Google News Archive Search |url=https://archive.today/20130125165804/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CmQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FusFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2218,1623147&dq=karl-heinz-schneider+hitler&hl=en |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=archive.ph}}

File:ברוך מזרחי.jpg

Though rare, some Palestinian Arabs have joined the Jewish people.

• Baruch Mizrahi - An Arab convert to Judaism, he joined the Irgun Zionist paramilitary, and was killed in 1948 during the Israeli War of Independence by Arab forces.
• David ben Avraham - Inspired by his grandfather's actions during the 1929 Hebron massacre, in which he saved 25 Jews, Ben Avraham converted to Judaism. He was subsequently jailed for his conversion by the State of Palestine. Ben Avraham was killed by an IDF reservist who believed he was possibly a terrorist during a time of heightened tensions during the Gaza war.

The B'nai Moshe, also known as the Inca Jews, are a group of 900 Peruvian gerim in Israel, primarily Judea and Samaria. Originally from Trujillo, a significant portion of the community made aliyah in the 1990's.{{Cite web |date=2014-01-12 |title=The Incas who sacrificed all for Judaism |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/the-incas-who-sacrificed-all-for-judaism-nxg8akvf |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=The Jewish Chronicle |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sedaka |first=Jan |date=2002-12-12 |title=Who is a Jew in Peru: 'Inca Jews' divide traditional communities |url=https://www.jta.org/2002/12/12/lifestyle/who-is-a-jew-in-peru |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}

{{See also|Afrikaner-Jews}}

A growing number of Afrikaners have undergone conversion in recent years, with many opting to make aliyah to Israel from South Africa.{{Cite news |last=Maltz |first=Judy |title=Why hundreds of Afrikaners became Jews and moved to Israel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-09-30/ty-article/.highlight/cleansed-by-the-torah-why-these-afrikaners-became-jews-and-moved-to-israel/0000017f-e2bb-d9aa-afff-fbfb151f0000 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240106073330/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-09-30/ty-article/.highlight/cleansed-by-the-torah-why-these-afrikaners-became-jews-and-moved-to-israel/0000017f-e2bb-d9aa-afff-fbfb151f0000 |archive-date=2024-01-06 |access-date=2025-03-02 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Langer |first=Mirah |date=2021-05-27 |title=Afrikaans, Jewish, and on YouTube, advocating for Israel |url=https://www.sajr.co.za/afrikaans-jewish-and-on-youtube-advocating-for-israel/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Jewish Report |language=en-ZA}}

• Conversion to Judaism
• Jewish identity
• Jewish peoplehood
• Sephardic Bnei Anusim
• Zera Yisrael
• Anusim

{{Reflist}}

Category:Converts to Judaism

Category:Groups claiming Jewish descent

Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law

Category:Judaism terminology

Category:Religious conversion