VIDEO - Reform or Conservative conversions carried out overseas are recognized by the Israeli authorities, Immigration Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim said in a video interview with Ynetnews.
However, Boim stressed that such conversions were impossible in Israel, where the only acceptable system of conversions was the Orthodox one.
Speaking to Ynetnews about the problems faced by converts to Judaism in Israel and abroad, the minister also stated that the best way to make sure that a conversion done abroad would be accepted by the Chief Rabbinate in Israel was to do it through a religious court recognized by the Israeli system.
Boim was also asked why the State insisted on strict religious conversions when for most people a conversion was only a technical procedure.
"This is the state of the Jewish people," Boim answered. "It comprises haredim, religious people and secular people, but it is still the state of the Jewish people. In order to become part of the Jewish people, one must undergo this process. This does not mean that once a person becomes a Jew he must be religious or strictly Orthodox.
"The conversion process is not only one of studying the mitzvot and keeping the mitzvot. It has a wider aspect of learning about the Jewish people, about its history and affinities. Anyone who wishes to join the Jewish people should get to know these things."