This illustrates the complete and utter farce of the conversion process. So! it now appears that the best way to guarantee to become a Jew is to die. The brave soldier who has paid the ultimate sacrifice by serving in the IDF has to have special dispensation even though all his actions and beliefs were for all to see when alive. Just as the suicide bomber lunatics wish to achieve martyr status, is this now the requirement of death to become a Jew.

even those, which are many, of Jewish ancestry, choose not to convert. Conversion is too demanding and most would prefer to live as secular Jews (as a lot see themselves) or seen as not Jews at all. It is no easy thing. Those who want to live a religious Jewish observant life will convert, that is a given, but very few do. But that is the irony of Israel and religion, even for born halachic Jews. It will come to haunt Israel some day.

I converted years ago as to be honest i needed the passport. As a gay man we had no other option, what made it easy is the fact that the ultra orthdox havent a clue about reality and only think in black and white, we certainly had a good laugh when i got my papers, we beat them at their own game.

The reason people convert is the issue here. Some convert to Judaism because they feel an affinity with the religion, others convert just so they can stay here and get married. This country is a state and a religion, it is what identifies it from the rest of the world. To keep the demographics as they should be, the status quo should not change, i.e. religious weddings only - any non-jew living in israel can easily get married in Cyprus. Keep our country Jewish with Jewish values - not religious, but Jewish.