ITIM, the Jewish Life Information Center, has filed a suit on behalf of an Italian convert, saying the Interior Ministry has ignored a Supreme Court ruling allowing converts to Judaism to be accepted as Israeli citizens shortly after their conversions. Prior to the ruling, the ministry required all converts to live in their communities abroad for at least one year prior to making aliyah (immigration). Ministry officials said the requirement was meant to ensure that the converts were serious.
Rachel, the Italian convert represented by ITIM, studied for conversion in Israel, but her request to covert in Israel was denied by the Interior Ministry despite several recommendations from local rabbis. She returned to Italy and converted there, only to have the ministry refuse to recognize her status as Jew. Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar has confirmed that Rachel is indeed Jewish.
Officials in the Interior Ministry refused to comment on the case, and said the ministry had yet to draft new criteria regarding those who convert abroad.