This article lists nations, groups or tribes, as well as notable individuals, who have converted to Judaism. This article does not differentiate between the different branches of Judaism. See also Who is a Jew? on issues related to the acceptance of conversions throughout the Jewish community.
A number of prominent celebrities, such as Madonna, Demi Moore, and Ariana Grande, have become followers of a "new age" version of Kabbalah (see Kabbalah Centre), derived from the body of Jewish mystical teaching also called Kabbalah, but do not consider themselves – and are not considered – Jewish.[1]
Converted nations, groups or tribes
Converted nations, groups or tribes from non-Abrahamic religions
Conversions throughout the Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Empire periods[2][3][4][5] (actual numbers and extent of proselytization disputed[6][7][8]) See the article on proselyte: a term which initially referred to Hellenistic converts to Judaism.[9][10]
Khazars (disputed[22][23][24][25]), a semi-nomadic Turkic people from Central Asia (historical Khazaria), many of whom converted to Judaism en masse in the 8th and 9th centuries CE from a Khazar religion[26][27]
Multiple Berber tribes noted by Ibn Khaldun, including the Jarawa, and possibly the warrior queen Kahina and her tribe. northwest Africa, 7th century, disputed
Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir: Arab tribes who converted to Judaism when Jews arrived in Hejaz following the Diaspora Revolt Later, they claimed to be Israelites. They were of Arabian origins and believed in the concept of "sons of God" from pre-Islamic Arabia and indigenous polytheistic beliefs.
Converted nations, groups or tribes from Christianity
Abba Sabra, fifteenth-century Ethiopian Orthodox monk who joined the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) community. He converted his pupil, prince Abba Saga, to Judaism and introduced monasticism to Ethiopian Jewry.
Abba Saga, Ethiopian prince and son of emperor Zara Yaqob, who persecuted Jews; converted with his teacher Abba Sabra, a former Ethiopian Orthodox monk
Will Herberg – social philosopher and sociologist of religion; Jewish theologian; former atheist and Marxist of Jewish ancestry who was raised atheist[108]
Nissim Baruch Black (born Damian Jamohl Black) – American rapper and music producer, raised Muslim but converted to Christianity before converting to Judaism.
Khadija Patman – British pornographic actress of South Asian origin. She converted to Judaism while dating her Jewish boyfriend.[122]
From other Middle Eastern religions
Avtalyon, Sage and vice-president of the Sanhedrin, apparently from a Mideastern religion[123]
Sh'maya, Sage and President of the Sanhedrin, apparently from a Mideastern religion[124]
Titus Flavius Clemens, consul, great-nephew of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, from traditional Roman religion (possibly to Jewish Christianity, as he is also a Christian saint)
Fulvia, wife of Emperor Tiberius' close friend, Saturninus, from traditional Roman religion
Angela Warnick Buchdahl, American Reform Jewish Rabbi, converted to Orthodox Judaism at age 21. She was not raised within the Buddhist faith; however, her mother is Buddhist so by Orthodox Jewish law she was not considered Jewish, but she was raised Jewish and so by Reform Jewish law she has always been Jewish.
Feldman, Louis H. (2003). "Conversion to Judaism in Classical Antiquity". Hebrew Union College Annual. 74. Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion: 155. ISSN0360-9049. JSTOR23509246. Retrieved 2023-07-08. There is reason to believe, though the matter is certainly subject to scrutiny and though it is not possible to arrive at anything like a precise figure, that there was a great increase in the number of Jews between the time of the Babylonian captivity in 586 b.c.e. and the first century c.e... If there was such an increase in the number of Jews, it may be explained most readily only by assuming a large number of converts to Judaism. Considerable doubt surrounds the alleged forced conversion of the Idumaeans at the end of the second century B.C.E. and of the Ituraeans shortly thereafter. The statements of Philo and Josephus indicate that the Jews were well disposed toward attracting converts and that, indeed, they succeeded in doing so. This aim is likewise reflected in statements in the New Testament, in Strabo, Seneca, Juvenal, and Tacitus, as well as in rabbinic literature. This does not mean that Judaism was a missionary religion. It certainly lacked a central administration and a central bureaucracy capable of carrying on such a mission. What it does mean is that there is evidence, direct and indirect, that there were many converts to Judaism... The fact that we know of no tracts aimed specifically at attracting non-Jews to Judaism may be explained by the hypothesis that the great majority of people in antiquity were illiterate and that most conversions were apparently obtained through oral persuasion. More-over, expulsions of the Jews from Rome on at least two occasions because of proselyting activities may indicate that some Jews were, indeed, eager to accept converts. The generally very positive attitude of the rabbis toward proselytes would accord with this view. We may conjecture that people were attracted to Judaism for various reasons, especially economic advantages and the charitable institutions of the Jews. Women, in particular, were attracted.
Feldman, L. H. (1993). "Proselytism by Jews in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Centuries". Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period. 24 (1). Brill: 1–58. doi:10.1163/157006393X00097. ISSN0047-2212. JSTOR24659643. In sum, Judaism in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries not only showed its vigor through the debates constituting its greatest work since the Bible, namely the Talmud, but also met the twin challenges of paganism and Christianity by winning more than its share of converts and "sympathizers."
Bartal, Israel (July 6, 2008). "Inventing an invention". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03. Retrieved October 22, 2009. My response to Sand's arguments is that no historian of the Jewish national movement has ever really believed that the origins of the Jews are ethnically and biologically "pure." Sand applies marginal positions to the entire body of Jewish historiography and, in doing so, denies the existence of the central positions in Jewish historical scholarship. No "nationalist" Jewish historian has ever tried to conceal the well-known fact that conversions to Judaism had a major impact on Jewish history in the ancient period and in the early Middle Ages. Although the myth of an exile from the Jewish homeland (Palestine) does exist in popular Israeli culture, it is negligible in serious Jewish historical discussions. Important groups in the Jewish national movement expressed reservations regarding this myth or denied it completely.
Marcus, Ralph (1952). "The Sebomenoi in Josephus". Jewish Social Studies. 14 (3). Indiana University Press: 247–250. JSTOR4465081. We know from Pagan, Christian and Jewish sources that during the Hellenistic and early Roman periods some Gentiles were so strongly attracted to Judaism that they became converts and undertook to observe Jewish laws and customs in the same manner as did the Jews themselves. [...] It is also commonly assumed that there were some Gentiles who did not go so far as to become converts but indicated their belief in monotheism and gave up the worship of Pagan gods. How far they went in openly dissociating themselves from Paganism and in associating themselves with Judaism we do not know. These Gentile sympathizers are commonly thought to be referred by the terms sebomenoi or phoboumenoi ton theon and metuentes in Greek and Latin sources, and yir᾿ê shamayim "fearers of Heaven" (i.e. God-fearers) in some early Rabbinic passages.
Doak, Brian R. (2020). Ancient Israel's Neighbors. Oxford University Press. p.143. ISBN978-0-19-069061-8. Some sources (such as the first century CE Jewish historian Josephus) suggest that a Jewish leader named John Hyrcanus forcibly "converted" the residents of Idumea to Judaism during the middle of the second century BCE, though others have pointed to natural affinities between Idumea and Judah that would have made the two regions natural allies (not requiring conversion).
Myers, David N. (2017). Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p.26. ISBN978-0-19-066033-8. This last stage of Second Temple history was unique in the annals of the Jews, especially the Hasmonean practice of forced conversion
Berlin, Adele; Grossman, Maxine, eds. (2011). "CONVERSION, FORCED". The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. Oxford University Press. p.186. ISBN978-0-19-973004-9. The forced conversion of the Idumeans (Edomites) to Judaism by John Hyrcanus (135–105 bce) is the only such recorded case of forced conversions to Judaism.
Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther, eds. (2014). "Jews". The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Oxford University Press. p.420. ISBN978-0-19-870677-9. The expansion of Jewish territory involved a phenomenon new to Judaism, the conversion of the neighbouring peoples, Idumaeans and Ituraeans, at least partly by force.
Levine, Lee I. "Palestine Under Hasmonean Rule". My Jewish Learning. At other times, however, whole populations were converted to Judaism, as was the case with the Idumeans under John Hyrcanus, and the Ituraeans under Aristobulus. [Idumea was an area south of Judea, while the Ituraeans lived in the Galilee. Aristobulus I was Hyrcanus' son, who ruled from 104-103 B.C.E.]
Magness, Jodi (2021). Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth. Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0-691-21677-5. During Aristobulus's brief reign he conquered Galilee and the Golan, perhaps converting to Judaism the Ituraeans, a native Semitic people... Atkinson 2016: 86—97, doubts that the Ituraeans were ever under Hasmonean rule, and suggests that Jewish expansion into Ituraean territory was a gradual process
Feldman, Alex M. (2022). The Monotheisation of Pontic-Caspian Eurasia: From the Eighth to the Thirteenth Century. Edinburgh University Press. pp.27–28, 199–204. ISBN9781474478113.
Jewish Encyclopedia "If the contradictory and sometimes legendary accounts of the personality of Dhu Nuwas given by the Arabian writers can be trusted, he was not a Jew by birth, but embraced Judaism after ascending the throne, taking the name of "Joseph."
Arc Poetry review of "Jacob's Dream" which states "Brewster is fascinated with her newly adopted faith of Judaism—poems about Jewish holy days and heritage are sprinkled throughout"
A Publishers Weekly review of Jacqueline Du Pre: A Biography by Carol Easton Archived 2015-07-21 at the Wayback Machine states she was "the daughter of anti-Semitic parents who herself converted to Judaism and at age 21 married Jewish pianist-conductor Daniel Barenboim."
Times Online interview[dead link]: She says in the interview "I converted to Judaism in 1983. I am not a deeply religious person but it is a vital part of my life. It shapes my beliefs, and how I look at the world."
Virtual Museum of the City of San FranciscoArchived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine states of her marriage, "Adah was not at all interested in home or family; in fact, the only thing she shared sincerely with him was his religion–she adopted the Jewish faith and remained steadfast in it until her death."
Interview at Book Browse "I am a Jew by choice and Italian by heritage. Shortly after I converted to Judaism, I came across a book by Alexander Stille called Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism."
Deutsch, Gloria. "Yearning for acceptance". Features. No.7/26/2012. Jerusalem Post. Joseph Joel Sherman has traveled a long road, from devout Christian to even more devout Jew – and in fact he has not yet arrived at his destination, to be accepted as a fully-fledged Orthodox Jew – although he is well on the way.
Men.", Godfrey Hodgson; Godfrey Hodgson Is A. British Journalist Whose Latest Book Is "all Things To All (3 April 1983). "BUSY LOVE LETTERS". YTimes.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Stilley – [dead link] "...the former model, raised a Christian in Conway, S.C., recently announced that she is converting to Judaism. Even her rabbi is befuddled.... "The first thing that attracted me to Judaism was the undeniable family strength that has held Jewish people and culture together for 3,000 years. . . Jews, whether religious or not, know where they have come from and what they would wish for their future, and this certainty is based on fact, not faith.... "I will not be a perfect Jew, nor will Judaism make me perfect. But I know that Judaism will give me faith, support, knowledge, and history. I am not Jewish because I choose to be. I am Jewish because there is no other choice for me.""
In her book Elizabeth Takes Off, Taylor writes, "[Conversion to Judaism] had absolutely nothing to do with my past marriage to Mike [Todd] or my upcoming marriage to Eddie Fisher, both of whom were Jewish. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time."
Pfefferman, Naomi (24 June 2004). "Journey to Judaism". Retrieved 18 July 2018. After Winningham observed her first Yom Kippur that year, she knew she had to convert, and did so March 3, 2003, accompanied by an entourage of friends and relatives.
"Finding My Religion". In 1962, she married Hilary Putnam, a Harvard philosopher. He, too, had a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father and was raised as an atheist... In 1994, Hilary Putnam celebrated his belated bar mitzvah, and four years later, his wife did the same.
Jewish Encyclopedia "He was by birth a Gentile from Pontus, and is said by Epiphanius to have been a connection by marriage of the emperor Hadrian and to have been appointed by him about the year 128 to an office concerned with the rebuilding of Jerusalem as "Ælia Capitolina." At some unknown age he joined the Christians, but afterward left them and became a proselyte to Judaism."
Q&A with Sarah Brown "Judaism, for me, is more a spiritual thing than a religion, but I feel that I have a Jewish soul. I didn't convert because of my marriage; I just always felt like there was a Jewish soul inside of me just dying to get out."
["Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places: 5th Edition", Robert Young Pelton, Collins Reference, 2003, p.270: "Denard has seven wives and has at various times converted to Judaism (in Morocco) and Islam (in the Comoros) and then back to Catholicism."]
