In Israel, if you are Jewish you have to be married by an Orthodox rabbi, and the Orthodox rabbinical authorities will not grant a marriage licence unless they certify the couple as Jewish. Individuals from abroad whose parents were not married under the auspices of the Rabbinate must therefore provide certification, usually from their congressional rabbis back home. Nicole Zeitler, whose conversation was overseas by Rabbi Haskel Lookstein in New York was rejected because her conversion was not deemed legitimate.
Rabbi Lookstein of the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on New York's Upper East Side is the very same rabbi who sponsored Ivanka’s conversion ten years ago.
While highly respected as a member of the Rabbinical Council of America, Orthodox rabbinic authorities in Israel have questioned the legitimacy of his conversions.
After Ms Zeitler appealed her case, it was upheld in July 2016 by Israel’s supreme rabbinical court, the highest religious court on the country.
The court acknowledged her commitment to Judaism but not the validity of her conversion.
In the end, Ms Zeitler had to undergo a second conversion in Israel in order to marry her fiance.
She told The Times of Israel: “I feel degraded. Essentially, they are saying they don’t recognise my Judaism.
“I love Rabbi Lookstein, he’s my rabbi, he brought me into the world as a Jew, and I don’t want his conversions not to be recognised.”
Rabbi Seth Farber, director of ITIM, a group that represents Jewish converts in Israel, condemned the decision.
He said: “The rabbinical court has humiliated Nicole, cast a shadow over tens of thousands of conversations around the world, and has created a crisis of confidence between diaspora Jewry and Israel’s Government.”
However, in a controversial twist, Rabbi Lookstein was later featured on a list of approved overseas rabbis released to the public.
The list of certified rabbis was previously kept secret, leaving converts in the dark about whether they would be recognised in Israel.
Then, after Donald Trump won the 2016 US Presidential Election, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate finally released the list of rabbis it recognises for conversion and divorce – but not marriage – and Rabbi Lookstein was, inexplicably, on the list.
She told The Times of Israel: “I feel degraded. Essentially, they are saying they don’t recognise my Judaism.
“I love Rabbi Lookstein, he’s my rabbi, he brought me into the world as a Jew, and I don’t want his conversions not to be recognised.”
Rabbi Seth Farber, director of ITIM, a group that represents Jewish converts in Israel, condemned the decision.
He said: “The rabbinical court has humiliated Nicole, cast a shadow over tens of thousands of conversations around the world, and has created a crisis of confidence between diaspora Jewry and Israel’s Government.”
However, in a controversial twist, Rabbi Lookstein was later featured on a list of approved overseas rabbis released to the public.
The list of certified rabbis was previously kept secret, leaving converts in the dark about whether they would be recognised in Israel.
Then, after Donald Trump won the 2016 US Presidential Election, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate finally released the list of rabbis it recognises for conversion and divorce – but not marriage – and Rabbi Lookstein was, inexplicably, on the list.
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