Editing Conversion to Judaism (section)

==Modern practice==
The requirements for conversions vary somewhat within the different branches of Judaism, so whether or not a conversion is recognized by another denomination is often an issue fraught with religious politics. The Orthodox rejection of non-Orthodox conversions is derived less from qualms with the conversion process itself, since Conservative and even some Reform conversions are very similar to Orthodox conversions with respect to duration and content, but rather from that the Orthodox presumption that converting was not properly instructed in Jewish Law to Orthodox Jewish standards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/cross-denominational-differences-regarding-conversion/|title = Denominational Differences on Conversion |website=My Jewish Learning}}</ref> The conflicting interpretations of whether non-Orthodox conversions are considered valid also have implications for converts aiming to acquire Israeli citizenship as personal status in Israel is heavily influenced by the decisions of the Great Rabbinical Court in Israel, which rejects non-Orthodox conversions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hacker |first=Daphna |date=2009 |title=Inter-Religious Marriages in Israel: Gendered Implications for Conversion, Children, and Citizenship |journal=[[Israel Studies]] |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=178–179|doi=10.2979/ISR.2009.14.2.178 }}</ref> Furthermore, there have been arguments made by scholars such as Hacker which argue that modern conversions are significantly influenced by the gender of the convert. This is due to the jurisdiction of the Great Rabbinical Court in Israel regarding personal status of Israeli citizens, which does not recognize inter-faith marriages and does not recognize children of paternal Jews as Jewish if the mother is not or has not converted to Orthodox Judaism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hacker |first=Daphna |date=2009 |title=Inter-Religious Marriages in Israel: Gendered Implications for Conversion, Children, and Citizenship |journal=[[Israel Studies]] |volume=14 |issue=2 |page=180-182|doi=10.2979/ISR.2009.14.2.178 }}</ref> 

In general, immersion in the ''mikveh'' is an important part of a traditional conversion. If the person who is converting is male, [[circumcision]] is a part of the traditional conversion process as well. If the male who is converting has already been circumcised, then a ritual removal of a single drop of blood will take place (''hatafat dam brit'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.convert.org/Conversion_Process.html |title=The Conversion Process |website=Conversion to Judaism Resource Center |access-date=2012-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204065120/http://www.convert.org/Conversion_Process.html |archive-date=2013-02-04 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> However, more liberal branches of Judaism have a more relaxed requirement of immersion and circumcision.