In the Spring 2013 Newsletter of The Dr. Israel Goldstein Youth Village we were pleased to read about a unique conversion program:

Many students at the Village coming from the former Soviet Union are not Jewish according to halachah (Jewish Law) as they do not have a Jewish mother. Although all our students consider themselves Jews and are eager to learn and absorb the Jewish practices and traditions, not being officially Jewish is problematic and, unfortunately, the state conversion process is difficult. We are proud that the Village is the first and only non-Orthodox institution in Israel to have its own conversion course which is sponsored by the office of the Prime Minister and is under the supervision of the Israel rabbinate. In addition to twice weekly class sessions, the course provides workshops prior to each holiday and week-ends spent at a religious kibbutz. Each participant has also been “adopted” by a local observant family.

The course. begun in December 2011, has been highly successful and its participants will soon appear before the Rabbinic Court to be converted. Because of the high quality of the course, many Jewish newcomers from the FSU also attend – just so that they can learn more about their heritage.

Other PEF approved charities engaged in conversion preparation and studies, may be found here: conversion.