Editing Conversion to Judaism (section)

===1997: Neeman Commission proposal===
In 1997 the issue of "Who is a Jew?" again arose in the [[State of Israel]], and Orthodox leaders such as Rabbi [[Norman Lamm]] publicly backed the Neeman commission, a group of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis working to develop joint programs for conversion to Judaism. In 1997 Lamm gave a speech at the World Council of Orthodox Leadership, in Glen Springs, New York, urging Orthodox Jews to support this effort:

{{Blockquote|text=Lamm told his listeners that they should value and encourage the efforts of non-Orthodox leaders to more seriously integrate traditional Jewish practices into the lives of their followers. They should welcome the creation of Reform and Conservative day schools and not see them as a threat to their own, Lamm said. In many communities, Orthodox day schools, or Orthodox-oriented community day schools, have large numbers of students from non-Orthodox families. The liberal movements should be appreciated and encouraged because they are doing something Jewish, even if it is not the way that Orthodox Jews would like them to, he said. "What they are doing is something, and something is better than nothing," he said in his speech. "I'm very openly attacking the notion that we sometimes find in the Orthodox community that 'being a goy is better{{'"}} than being a non-Orthodox Jew, he said in an interview.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Orthodox leader speaks out on Jewish unity, breaking long silence|last=Nussbaum Cohen|first=Debra|date=5 December 1997|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref>}}The committee recommended the establishment of a joint institute for Jewish studies, which would be a joint effort by all three streams of Judaism. The committee also recommended that conversion proceedings themselves be held in special conversion courts, to be recognized by all denominations in Judaism. The purpose of the proposal was to prevent a rift in the Jewish people, while at the same time bringing about a state-sponsored arrangement for conversion. On 7 September 1998, the government adopted the Ne'eman Commission Report.

A year later, the Joint Institute for Jewish Studies was established, and since then it has been the official state operator of conversion courses in Israel, including the military conversion courses. In 2015 the institute's name was changed to Nativ – The National Center for Jewish Studies, Identity and Conversion.