Israel's High Court Asked To Enforce Its Holding On "Pop-Over" Conversions

In Israel, the World Union for Progressive Judaism has petitioned the High Court of Justice in order to force the Interior Ministry to recognize the Court's 2005 ruling mandating the recognition of so-called "pop-over conversions". The 2005 ruling held that a person who studies Judaism in Israel under the auspices of the Conservative or Reform movements, and then goes abroad for a conversion ceremony in one of the recognized Jewish communities overseas, must be recognized as Jewish under the Law of Return. Haaretz today reports that the Population Administration has not yet adopted rules to implement the Court's holding. The petition filed two weeks ago is on behalf of a woman who underwent a Reform conversion in Brazil after studying in Israel, but whose attempts to register as a citizen under the Law of Return were rebuffed by the Interior Ministry.