On Thursday, the Beer Sheva district rabbinical court accepted the petition of “A,” a Jew who previously converted to Islam, and welcomed him back to the Jewish people.
“A” lived as Muslim for many years, and was even registered as such in the Interior Ministry. Several months ago, he made contact with the Lehava organization which works to maintain the integrity of the Jewish People, and expressed a desire to return to his roots. Lehava’s heads, Bentzi and Anat Gopstein, provided him with support and guidance.
“We are delighted that the rabbinical court approved ‘A’s’ petition to return to Judaism,” Anat Gopstein told Arutz Sheva. “‘A’ turned to us several months ago and since then, we have been in constant contact with him, providing him with the assistance he needed and also learning together with him about Judaism. He has been laying tefillin every day for months,” she added.
“‘A’ told us that he wanted to return to Judaism so that he would be able to be buried as a Jew,” Anat continued. “When the rabbinical court gave him a positive response, it was a very emotional moment for him, and he literally wept.
“In most of the cases we deal with,” she described, “it is women who are appealing to us to return to Judaism after converting to Islam. But there are men, too, and we do everything we can to help them.”
Lehava head Bentzi Gopstein added, “I would like to thank the rabbinical court for accepting ‘A’s’ petition to detach himself from Islam and return to Judaism. The case of ‘A’ teaches us that it is forbidden to despair, whatever the situation may be. After long years during which ‘A’ lived as a Muslim, the Jewish spark in his soul ignited and brought him back to his source, back to Judaism.”