You are a courageous woman doing good work. Thank you for your efforts! The sad thing is, for many converts, observance is more meaningful than for "real" Jews. It is the prejudice,the unwelcome, the constant suspicion that makes converts grow sick of being alienated and leave--and THEN to see the "real" Jews shake their fingers and say, "See I told you she wasn't sincere!" The experiences of being a convert are remarkable. For example, I lived for a time in a supposed progressive uS city. I decided to become Orthodox and looked for a shul and made an appt.The liberals in this city hate Israel. I lost work. I had Christians tell me I would burn in hell. I was spat upon more than once, and screamed at at a bus stop over the Leb 2 War. I was told by a man he wouldn't date me. I was called a fat Jew by someone drunk at a gathering. I was denied promotion. I was denied housing. When I went to shul they looked at my Swedish face and told me I didn't know what it's like to be Jewish.

I know many converts who are better Jews than those who were born Jewish. I respect them for all the sacrifices they have made in order to become Jewish. I truly feel that these people's neshamas were at Sinai with all other Jews. Many of them might have had Jewish ancestors somewhere along the line, but just don't know it. On the other hand, I also know people who converted who observe no commandments. It is these people whose conversions should be annulled.

My neighbor had an Orthodox conversion, but does not observe the commandments. She does not keep Shabbat nor Kashrut and even has an Xmas tree (which she says that she cannot give up). To me she is still a non-Jew. I think that she only converted to get married.

We are more accepting of converts here. My wife and I "adopted" a convert from the Czech Republic. It is a mitzva to be kind to a convert. You can contact us at globalbullandbear@yahoo.com Ask for Rachel,we will try to help you. American Jews find it difficult even to accept religious Israeli's,your place is in Israel

These converts don't seem to have taken on Judaism. But how can we be sure? I think rather then taking Judaism away from them, we should try to bring them closer. After all, they believe there is a secular Judaism.

In another article Ynet reported that "Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar signed over the weekend new measures stipulating that rabbinical courts will no longer deliberate misgivings regarding the validity of conversions, and instead will transfer such files to a special panel chosen by him" How will this affect the problem mentioned in this article about labels on the get?

I am truly sorry that you have suffered so much. It wasn't necessary. I live on a settlement in Israel and as on most of the settlements, there are many converts here. They are all treated well and no one differentiates between them and those born Jewish. Children of converts and converts themselves have married into families of rabbis. There is no discrimination. If you can make aliyah, a settlement is a good place to live.

When you approach a jewish agency to make alyah as a convert they ask you - conversion certificate : easy - rabbinical affidavits of your religious way of life since your conversion : easy if you never move around, but quite impossible for a globe trotter - detailed and signed program of you conversion course : not so easy because many Batei Din refuse to cooperate with the jewish agency and do not deliver this document - written and signed affidavit from the three judges who converted you : quite impossible if you converted years ago and these rabbis moved away or died If you success in producing all these papers, you are still not sure to be registered as a Jew by israeli authorities and could be denied access to a religious school for your kids and a jewish graveyard. So better for a convert to stay in Galut where he will be respected according to the Torah ruling !

I was adopted by an orthodox couple and raised in an orthodox family. I consider myself Jewish and am considered Jewish by the Orthodox Rabinate, but I am secular. Could I be stripped of the only cultural identity I have ever known? I can't be considered to have 'reverted' to my former religion, as I don't even know what religion (if any) my biological family practiced. Should I be worried? Just wondering.

If we had many more like her in the Halachic world Israel would be a much better place. Where is the compassion that is so called for in Judaism? #1, I am SO sorry all this has happened to you as a result of joining our people. Yes, we are a far cry from Afganistan but it is a slippery slope and we had better watch our footsteps. And Rabbis, PLEASE let us actually try not to humiliate others (halbanat panim) as it is a great sin! Aren't we supposed to try not to be sinners, especially Torah observant Jews?

I wonder how they would know who is observant and who isn't. What about someone who drives on Shabbos but gives money to the poor, who wears no proper dress but honors his/her parents, who has no separate kitchen but loves his/her neighbor? Its the Bible vs. the Rabbis, as you notice.

Shame on these rabbis and the simple minded people that follow them. The Torah says that GOD loves converts more, so I guess they're just jealous :^p

HAS BECOME A PRACTICE. IT IS TIME THE GOVT OF ISRAEL PUT AN END TO THIS SOCIAL- STIGMA PLACED ON THE CONVERTS. THIS IS NOT JUDAISM BUT EXTREMISM AND HUMLIATION TO CREATION AND THE CREATOR. TO MUCH OF SADISTIC WEAKEDNESS THAT COMES OUT OF THE RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIKE THIS KIND OF OPINION ARE NOT NORMAL. THIS TOMENTORS TACTICS CLEARLY NOT COMMING FROM G-D'S RULE OF LAW BUT MERELY SELF- MADE RULES TO BE PROTECTIVE AND DISCREMINATED AGAINST THE LIBERATION AOF THE HUMAN SOULS- JEWISH SOULS. CLEARLY AND ABOMINATION ! THESE DIVORCE COUPLES ARE AL READY TRAUMATISED BY THE WHOLE EXPERIEMCED OF TEH DIVORCE WHY GIVE THEM MORE TRAUMA ? YOU ARE ADDING TOWARDS THE ACROMONIOUS EFFECT TOWARDS FURTHER JEOPARDY BY HALAKIC BLUNDERS ! THIS IS YEAR 2010! YOU ARE NO LONGER LIVING IN THE OLD TIMES! VERY SINFUL !

In the circles I'm in there are many converts who are observant. They are treated like everyone else. The problem is only with people who convert and then do not observe anything. One woman I know stopped keeping kosher as soon as she converted because "It just wasn't for me". She doesn't keep Shabbat either. She only converted in order to get married. She put on a good show in order to convert. Her whole conversion is a lie. As I mentioned, I have absolutely no problem with converts who are sincere.

I understand that you are unhappy with converts who aren't observant. So am I. But that does not justify having a band of inhumane rabbis constantly threatening all converts with revocation of their conversions. EVERYONE has lapses at times. Unfortunately, when a ger has a lapse, there are people waiting to pounce. The remedy is teshuva, not bullying. And if the person never does teshuva, the final reckoning will come without your involvement or mine. If the ger is female, then the problem is compounded. Her children and grandchildren are vulnerable as well. The system in wicked, repressive and absolutely inhumane, and the rabbis involved are bad people.

If the Rabbis would consider revoking a conversion of a person who was converted during infancy and grew up knowing only Judaism, then the Rabbis are evil and wicked indeed. This is true even if the convert was not raised in an Orthodox home, but even a reform or secular home. Else it is pure racism.

One of Newton's Laws of Motion has relevence to Halacha: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This "secret code" was brought into the public eye by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren zt"l. He solved one problem with it, but opened a huge Pandora's box. His action of resolving a question of mamzerut caused an reaction of annuling conversions. So Haredi rabbis are not the cause for conversions being annulled, it's because of an Israeli Chief Rabbi.

Yosef , USA (02.05.10) lays the blame on r' goren and clears the haredis. actually, haredi behaviour is contrary to any acceptable jewish or human norm. today's haredis (paricularly the ashkenazis among them) have adopted the norms of sodom and gomorra. as it says in bereishit, " Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against Hashem exceedingly. " in their extremely racist behaviour.

Thank you RL for sharing your experiences as a radical red diaper doper baby left-wing extremist feminist. We don't need to hear the other side(s), only the mainstream media's elitist left-wing radical deconstructionist truth. A grateful reader. /sarcasm off.

Avram #16 says that the "children and grandchildren" of a female ger may be vulnerable to the annullment of her conversion - I construe his words as once a convert is dead, his/her conversion can be challenged no more, and that's why just the immediate descendants are vulnerable. But if there is no prescription, the consequences may be dire.

You are not supposed to. Thats one of the Mitzvot. These Rabbis should stop trying to keep people out and start encouraging following Mitzvot. If you are born Jewish and dont follow all Mitzvot you are still Jewish. IF you convert and try to live the life of a Jew, that should be good enough. Humans arent perfect, gentile and Jew alike. I applaud all who choose to convert. Dont let those against you prevent you from knowing that there are many, hopefully most of us born Jewish, who welcome you with open arms. I hope for more converts. There is always room for more Jews.

the whole problem with conversion is that a jewish born can do everthing he want and he remains jewish, not a convert. In fact, convert and jewish born doesn't have the same right. So a convert is not realy a jew and his children will live with the sword of Damocles over their head (if his mother was a convert). If excommunication was applicate to jewish born, there was not problem to cancel conversion because everybody was treated equally.

I think it is disgusting for converts to be treated in this way when Jewish born people are often non-observant, eating treif and guilty of loshon hara. Surely it is better in this time when Amalek is at the gates to welcome anyone into Judaism and Israel. Israel and Jews need all the support we can get in an increasingly hostile anti-semitic world Ruth was welcomed as a convert and we need to welcome converts too. This kind of behaviour by the rabonim only turns people against us and lets them label us as racists and discriminators. We should be better than that. Hitler did not discriminate-he killed full Jews,half Jews, quarter Jews, converts, everyone who had any Jewish blood .