Israel's Supreme Court Rules Interior Ministry Must Recognize Private Orthodox Conversions for Citizenship

Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that the Interior Ministry may not deny citizenship to a person who converted to Judaism through a recognized private rabbinical court in Israel, handing down a decision on Thursday that advocates described as landmark.

The ruling deals specifically with the Ahavat HaGer rabbinical court, headed by prominent Rabbi Haim Amsalem, but implicitly challenges the ministry's broader tendency to reject citizenship applications from people who converted through non-state courts, according to Rabbi Seth Farber, head of the religious rights group ITIM.

"This landmark decision safeguards the status and dignity of those who have joined the Jewish people through private courts," Farber said in a written statement. "These individuals underwent rigorous, authentic halachic conversions, and the court has rightly affirmed that their Jewish identity cannot be held hostage by state bureaucracy."

The case was brought by a Filipino caregiver who arrived in Israel in 2005, developed a connection to Judaism and converted through Amsalem's court in 2018. Although she met all the religious requirements for conversion, the Population and Immigration Authority repeatedly turned down her citizenship application, leading to a protracted legal fight.

David Amsalem, an attorney who represented his father in the case, explained that the Interior Ministry, reflecting the approach of the ultra-Orthodox rabbinic establishment, expects converts to observe Jewish law by strict Haredi standards. Ahavat HaGer, by contrast, permits converts to follow more moderate interpretations of halacha, he said.

The justices held that the authority was required to recognize the woman's conversion and dismissed the ministry's arguments against the legal standing of Amsalem's court. At the same time, they made clear that recognizing private conversion courts does not stop the Population Authority from examining the sincerity of individual conversions or acting against attempts to exploit the Law of Return to gain Israeli citizenship. "[I]n these difficult times for Israel.. the words of Maimonides and the Talmud regarding the lenient approach to be adopted in the conversion process are more relevant than ever," they wrote.

The question of which conversions Israel recognizes for citizenship purposes has long been contentious, with successive governments failing to settle it through legislation. Conversions in Israel are generally handled through the Chief Rabbinate, which is dominated by ultra-Orthodox leaders whom critics accuse of taking an overly restrictive approach. Even Orthodox conversions performed inside the country can run into bureaucratic obstacles.

A landmark 2016 Supreme Court ruling established that the Interior Ministry must recognize conversions by private Orthodox rabbinical courts in Israel, provided they are led by accepted and reputable rabbinic authorities and maintain rigorous religious standards. Several courts, including the Giyur K'Halacha network founded by ITIM, have since been recognized under that framework. In 2022, a District Court recognized both Giyur K'Halacha and Ahavat HaGer, but attorney Amsalem said a technical issue in the wording of that judgment allowed the ministry to keep questioning his father's court.

The dispute came to a head over the caregiver's application. The ministry first rejected her because her conversion court was not recognized, and even after agreeing to grant her citizenship, it appealed the lower court's determination that Amsalem's independent court should be recognized. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected that appeal, affirmed the court's authority and the rigor of its conversion process, criticized the ministry for dragging out the proceedings and ordered the state to pay the petitioners NIS 20,000 in legal costs.

Farber said the ruling could have implications for other legal obstacles facing converts, while calling it "a step forward" that nonetheless "highlights a glaring abdication of responsibility by the Israeli government." The decision covers matters under the Interior Ministry's jurisdiction, including citizenship, but does not extend to religious matters such as marriage, which remain under the Chief Rabbinate. Still, David Amsalem said converts through private courts have legal avenues for marrying in Israel, and further legal challenges could expand their rights.