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NEVER BEEN

RATING.

to pray in the dark. In the midst of
travail, he will find faith, and he will
be granted greater wisdom and com-
passion. Out of his pain, he may yet
see, as did Jacob, a glimpse of future
generations. ❑

Israel Approves
Conversion Institute

Jerusalem (JTA)
A long-awaited conversion institute
integrating Orthodox, Conservative_
and Reform perspectives to Judaism
will open its doors in three Israeli
cities next Febrtiary. Three more loca-
tions are expected by fall 1999.
The first locations will have space
for a combined total of about 240 stu-
dents, according to Benjamin Ish-
Shalom, chairman of the board of the
new Institute for Jewish Studies,
which is informally known as the con-
version institute.
A large percentage of the institute's
government-provided 5700,000 yearly
budget will be devoted to reaching out
to 200,000-300,000 immigrants from
the former Soviet Union. They are not
Jewish either by Jewish law or self-def-
inition, but were extended citizenship
under the country's Law of Return
because they have an immediate rela-
tiVe who is Jewish.
The idea for a joint conversion
course was recommended by a govern-
ment committee, chaired by Finance
Minister Ya'akov Ne'eman, which was
established to find a solution to the
divisive debate over conversions per-
formed in Israel.
Determining matters of personal
status in Israel is the sole province of
the Orthodox rabbinate. The Reform
and Conservative movements had
sought to gain legal recognition for
their conversions through the Israeli
courts, while the Orthodox political
and religious leadership pressed for
Knesset adoption of a bill that would
codify their control over conversions.
The Ne'eman Committee tried to
end both the legislation and the litiga-
tion related to conversions. The board
of directors of the new conversion
institute is composed, as was the
Ne'eman Committee, of representa-
tives of each denomination — five
Orthodox, and one each from the
Conservative and Reform movements.
Teachers are now being hired for
the institute and a curriculum devel-
oped. After completion, candidates
will undergo an Orthodox conversion.

Yn

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