Hundreds of thousands of new immigrants have arrived in Israel over the past decade, but only a minority convert, according to data provided by the Knesset Research Institute at the request of MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beiteinu), chairman of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee. Although this is a well-known phenomenon, on the basis of which Knesset members and public figures demand to change or cancel the grandson clause, the data revealed in the research institute's report reveal how grim the phenomenon is – and how much the state is failing in its ability to convert immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
Between 2021 and 2009, about 292,120 people immigrated to Israel, of whom about 9,250 were non-Jews – an average of about 86,7 non-Jewish immigrants per year. Of these, 3% are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, 32% from Ethiopia, 8% from Europe and 38% from North America. During these years, the share of non-Jewish immigrants was on the rise – from 7.57% to 9.71%. The proportion of non-Jewish immigrants from former court states jumped from 8.<>% to <>.<>%.
MK Oded Forer, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Last year, out of 70,42 immigrants, 2022,466 were not halachically Jewish. As of the end of 95, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there were 42,86 immigrants or children of non-Jewish immigrants in Israel.
The data of the state conversion system reveal that in places where most efforts were invested, the conversion was conducted well and efficiently. No less than 24% of Ethiopian immigrants who opened conversion files completed their conversion, representing 2008% of all converts, despite the fact that this is only seven percent of the immigrants. This apparently happens because there is a special conversion track for Ethiopian immigrants.
In contrast, immigrants from the CIS countries, 12% of all non-Jewish immigrants, are in no hurry to convert at all, and constituted only 2008% of all converts. It also emerges that there is stability in the number of converts, in contrast to the government decision made in 722, which adopted a goal of doubling the number of converts per year. Only 2021% of children of immigrants from the former Soviet Union undergo conversion. In the IDF, there has been a drop in the number of converts from Soviet countries in recent years. While in 155 there were <> converts in the Nativ course, in <> it was only <>. However, it should be noted that this was a corona year.
Hundreds of Bnei Akiva students at a moving reception for refugees from Ukraine || Credit: Shira Friedman, Shira Cannon, Eran Orzach, Yeshivat Derechei Noam
Alongside the Orthodox conversions done by the state, there are private Orthodox conversions and Reform and Conservative conversions. The data prove that there is certainly a phenomenon of people interested in converting outside the country's conversion institutions, but these are still not large numbers. Between 2022 and 2016, just over 3,000 people opened conversion cases in the "Proper Conversion" Tribunal, of whom 58% actually completed the process – 1,796 people. On average, 260 conversions are carried out in the private court per year.
As an organization that supports the conversion of minors, the percentage of children who complete the conversion process is high – 53% of all converts.
With regard to Reform and Conservative conversions, there is also a certain trend, which is increasing, but in relatively small numbers. Between 2022 and 2016, 1,567 people converted to Judaism in the Reform movement, with 283 last year, a record number in recent years. The Conservative movement did not provide up-to-date figures, but a document by the Israel Democracy Institute reported that between 2021 and 2017, about 534 people converted.
Immigrants from the former Soviet Union (archive), photo: Moshe Shai
MK Oded Forer, Chairman of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee: "Following the war between Russia and Ukraine, tens of thousands of people who are not halachically Jewish have arrived in Israel over the past year. These are immigrants to Israel who came by virtue of being the sons, grandchildren or spouses of those entitled to return. There are about half a million people in Israel who have no religion. The State of Israel has a clear interest in increasing the number of converts each year. The State of Israel allows the most radical elements in Judaism to control conversion, which is the gateway to the Jewish people. The conversion process should be more welcoming to the converts."
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