Abby Lerner Image by Rabbinical Council of America

The Orthodox Union’s rabbinic arm has created a new position to help smooth the conversion process. The Rabbinical Council of America announced Monday that Abby Lerner will be the first National Director of Conversion Services.

Lerner will “assume responsibility for the support of candidates in their conversion process,” according to an RCA statement. She will also create a grievance process for conversion candidates as well as regular reviews of conversion courts to ensure they adhere to the conversion principles issued by the RCA and Beth Din of America in 2007. The goal is “to improve the experiences of candidates as they prepare for conversion.”

Conversion to Judaism has emerged as a thorny issue between Jews abroad and Israel. Most famously, Israeli rabbis rejected a conversion overseen by the rabbi who converted Ivanka Trump to Judaism. After the U.S. election, Israeli rabbis announced they were looking into changing the guidelines for recognizing conversions, and that Ivanka Trump’s conversion would be approved under the new rules.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Correction, March 24 at 2:00 p.m.: A previous version of this story noted that Israeli rabbis rejected the conversion of Ivanka Trump. In fact, Israeli rabbis rejected a different conversion conducted by the rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump’s conversion. The previous version of this story also noted that Israeli authorities changed the rules of conversion; in fact, they announced they would explore changing the rules of conversion. The Forward regrets the errors.

Contact Shira Hanau at [email protected]

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount