List of converts to Judaism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article endeavours to list some notable people who have converted, or are believed to have converted, to Judaism. Their notability is based either on outside endeavors for otherwise famous people, or on circumstances which would make their conversion itself to be notable -- such as professional clergy from other religions. The article does not differentiate between the different branches of Judaism, and doesn't list people who married a Jewish spouse without converting. See also Who is a Jew? on issues related to the acceptance of conversions throughout the Jewish community.
(A number of prominent figures, such as Madonna, have recently become followers of Kabbalah, a body of Jewish mystical teaching, but do not consider themselves – and are not considered – Jewish.)
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[edit] List of converts to Judaism from Christianity
Although some people notable for arts or sciences have happened to convert to Judaism, there is a small group of people who are notable because they have converted to Judaism: professional clergy from other religions. In some cases conversion meant persecution or even death. In other cases conversion simply meant a change in career.
[edit] Christian Proselyte Communities
- Abayudaya[1]
- Bnei Menashe[2]
- Bene Ephraim Claim to be Jews who converted to Christianity, then converted back to Judaism [3]
- B'nai Moshe (Inca Jews) [4]
- San Nicandro Jews [5]
- Subbotniks
[edit] Former Christian clergy and Christian theologians
- Abraham the Monk converted to Judaism in the 600's
- Bishop Bodo, confessor to Louis the Pious[6]
- Obadiah the Proselyte (musician) or Obadiah the Proselyte (priest) (né Johannes), priest and composer [7]
- Robert Reddinge English preaching friar, of the Dominican order; converted to Judaism about 1275
- Nicolas Antoine
- Aleksei (former archpriest) [8]
- Juan Carrasco (former Augustin friar) [9][10]
- Johann Peter Spaeth, German theologian[11] "Johann Peter Spaeth (about 1642-1701), author of an attack on Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-politicus, finally became a Jewish convert, called himself "Moses Germanus," and was even circumcised a few years before his death in 1697"
[edit] 1990s to 2000s
- Asher Wade (ex-Methodist pastor); converted after studying the history of the holocaust in 1978 Official Website
- Shlomo Ben Avraham "Ole" Brunell, former Lutheran minister from Finland and Australia. Along with him, his wife Ruth (formerly Runa), two adult daughters, two teenage daughters, and a former son-in-law also converted. Official book[12][13]
- Geza Vermes, expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and former Catholic priest (reverted to Judaism) [14]
[edit] Upon marriage
- Tom Arnold, actor (upon marrying Roseanne Barr)[15]
- Kate Capshaw, actress (upon marrying Steven Spielberg)[16]
- Connie Chung, news anchor (upon marrying Maury Povich)
- Jacqueline du Pré, musician (upon marrying Daniel Barenboim)[17]
- Isla Fisher, model and actress (upon marrying Sacha Baron Cohen)[18]
- Mary Hart (* 1950) American television personality, long-time host of the entertainment program Entertainment Tonight upon marrying Burt Sugarman[19]
- Carolyn Jones, actress (upon marrying Aaron Spelling)[20]
- Cameron Kerry, politician, brother of John Kerry, upon marrying Kathy Weinman[21]
- Adah Isaacs Menken, stage actress, upon marrying a Jewish musician, Alexander Isaac Menken[22]
- Marilyn Monroe, actress (upon marrying Arthur Miller)[23]
- Santa Montefiore, novelist (on marriage to Simon Sebag Montefiore) [24]
- Norma Shearer, actress (upon marrying Irving Thalberg)
- Venetia Stanley, socialite (upon marrying Edwin Samuel Montagu)[25]
- Elizabeth Taylor, actress (upon marrying Eddie Fisher) [26]
- Nikki Ziering, model (upon marrying Ian Ziering) [27]
[edit] Ethnic Jews
- Reuben Greenberg, police chief of Charleston, South Carolina.[28]
- David Weiss Former Presbyterian lay minister David Weiss (born Jewish) returned to Judaism and is now a successful writer living in Los Angeles.
[edit] Others
- Abraham ben Abraham, Polish count, the famed "Ger Tzedek."
- Moses ben Abraham
- Aquila of Sinope, Bible translator [29]
- Abraham of Augsburg
- Dany Boon, French comedian[30]
- Elizabeth Brewster, Canadian poet[31]
- May Britt, actress (upon marrying Sammy Davis, Jr.)[32]
- Geraldine Brooks ,a Pulitzer Prize-winner, Australian-American journalist and author.
- Sarah Brown, actress[33]
- Eddie Butler, Israeli singer
- Nell Carter, singer and actress[34]
- Jim Croce, singer/songwriter[35]
- Sammy Davis, Jr., entertainer[36]
Sammy Davis, Jr., entertainer who converted during recovery from an automobile accident
- William G. Dever, archaeologist.[37]
- Luke Ford, journalist.[38]
- Aaron Freeman, journalist and comedian[39]
- Lord George Gordon, nobleman and politician[40]
- Carolivia Herron [41]
- Jon Juaristi, Spanish writer [42]
- Felicity Kendal, actress[43]
- Natan Gamedze, former Protestant Christian, linguist and a Swazi royal, now a black Haredi rabbi.[44]
- Carolivia Herron, writer of children's and adult literature.[45]
- Jamaica Kincaid, author[46]
- Anthony Lake, American diplomat, political figure, and academic. He has been a foreign policy advisor to many Democratic U.S. presidents and presidential candidates, and served as National Security Advisor under U.S. President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.
- Julius Lester, son of a Methodist minister and a children's author[47] and [48]
- Elliott Maddox, baseball player[49]
- Anne Meara (* 1929) American comedienne and actress, partner and wife of Jerry Stiller[50]
- Martha Nussbaum, philosopher[51]
- Bob Nystrom, former NHL player[52]
- Mary Doria Russell, American author.[53]
- Margo Stilley American film actress[54]
- Andre Tippett, football player.[55]
- Chris Van Allsburg, children's writer[56]
- Mare Winningham, actress-singer [57]
- Louis Ferrante
[edit] List of converts to Judaism not from Christianity
[edit] From Atheism or Agnosticism
- Christian B. Anfinsen, Nobel prize-winning chemist (Orthodox Judaism)[58]
- Suzy Menkes, fashion journalist (Jewish father) [6]
- Will Herberg former atheist and Marxist of Jewish ancestry who reverted to Judaism[59]
- Mare Winningham[60]
- Mary Doria Russell[61]
[edit] From Islam
- Reza Jabari - Iranian hijacker.[62]
[edit] From Paganism
- Aquila of Sinope (Acylas), from Greek paganism[63]
- Bithiah
- Bulan, king of the Khazars, from Khazar paganism [64]
- Jethro, priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses [7]
- Makeda, queen of Sheba [65]
- Dhu Nuwas, king of Yemen [66]
- Obadiah the prophet[67]
- Sh'maya, Sage and President of the Sanhedrin[68]
- Avtalyon, Sage and Vice-President of the Sanhedrin[69]
- Onkelos, Hebrew scholar and translator[70]
- Ruth, great-grandmother of King David. [71]
- Helena, queen of Adiabene. [8]
- Izates bar Monobaz, king of Adiabene. [9]
- Symacho, wife of Izates bar Monobaz. [10]
- Monobaz II, king of Adiabene. [11]
- Khazars, 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. [12]
- Puah
- Shiphrah
- Obadiah
- Osenath
- Zipporah
- Yael
[edit] Converts who later left the faith or were expelled
- Polemon II, king of Clicia converted to marry the Jewish princess Berenice; later relapsed. [72]
- Uriel da Costa, philosopher shunned for heresy.[73]
[edit] Forced conversions
- 2nd century leader John Hyrcanus forces the conversion of the Idumeans to Judaism.[74] That this conversion was forced, however, is disputed.[75]
- Jewish King Dhu Nuwas orders the forceful conversion of the Christians (mainly Aksumites) in Najran in 525 A.D. Up to 20,000 Christians who refused to convert are subsequently massacred.[76]
[edit] See also
- List of people by belief
- List of Jews
- List of converts to Christianity
- List of people who converted to Catholicism
- List of converts to Hinduism
- List of converts to Islam
- List of converts to Sikhism
[edit] References
- ^ A History of the Abuyudaya Jews of Uganda
- ^ BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Rabbi backs India's 'lost Jews'
- ^ Kulanu: Bene Ephraim of Andhra Pradesh, South India
- ^ Converting Inca Indians in Peru
- ^ Judaism - Reflections on Giur
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ The University of Chicago Magazine: August 2004, [http://books.google.com/books?id=SFazbG_b6ysC&pg=PT149&dq=catholic+priest+convert+judaism&ei=-a5LR5LpKI706gLG0uTzBg&sig=X-fhSpE-lO eivXyAWeFf5xMfMSs], University of Calgary, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed 2001), art. Obadiah the Proselyte
- ^ JewishEncyclopedia.com - ALEKSEI:
- ^ JewishEncyclopedia.com - DANIELILLO OF LEGHORN
- ^ JewishEncyclopedia.com - CARRASCO
- ^ Commentary Magazine
- ^ Jerusalem Post
- ^ Amazon.com: Strangers No More: One Family's Exceptional Journey from Christianity to Judaism: Books: Shlomo Ben Avraham Brunell
- ^ Buy.com - Providential Accidents: An Autobiography : Geza Vermes : ISBN 9780847693405
- ^ IMDB
- ^ New York Times
- ^ A Publishers Weekly review of Jacqueline Du Pre: A Biography by Carol Easton[1] states she was "the daughter of anti-Semitic parents who herself converted to Judaism and at age 21 married Jewish pianist-conductor Daniel Barenboim."
- ^ Gensler, Howard. "'Borat' to wed Aussie actress Isla Fisher", 2006-11-27. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
- ^ Hart - [2] "Thought there are no Jewish Republicans in show biz? Well, Bush contributors include... host Mary Hart, who’s a convert to Judaism..."
- ^ IMDB
- ^ Seattle Times
- ^ Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco 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."
- ^ "BBC On this Day"
- ^ The Independent Feb 7, 2005; online here Findarticles accessed 11 Dec 2006
- ^ New York Times book review
- ^ 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." [3]
- ^ Entertainment Weekly
- ^ The movie Shalom y'all
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, art. Aquila of Sinope
- ^ Le Figaro Magazine which states "as though his conversion to Judaism in 2002 had paradoxically made him closer to his Pas-de-Calais roots".
- ^ 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"
- ^ "May Britt Joins Jewish Faith", The New York Times, 18 October 1960, p. 46
- ^ 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."
- ^ Chicago Sun Times via "Find Articles.": Said of her conversion "I needed to know where God was, and I went back to the basics."
- ^ Interview with Croce's Cousin http://www.netporch.com/sa/
- ^ Jewish Virtual Library
- ^ Shanks, Hershel. "Losing Faith: How Scholarship Affects Scholars". Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2007.
- ^ Luke Ford, XXX-Communicated: A Rebel Without a Shul. iUniverse, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-595-66441-5
- ^ Aaron Freeman's website
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ Convert Authors
- ^ El Mundo
- ^ Times Online interview: 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."
- ^ Natan Gamedze's website
- ^ Her website
- ^ [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:bJ5arSMnNPAJ:www.bethisrael-om.org/pdf/bignews2.pdf+%22Jamaica+Kincaid%22+conversion+ judaism+-wikipedia&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=25 Beth Israel]
- ^ Julis Lester's Home Page
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Baseball Almanac.com
- ^ O'Toole, Lesley. "Ben Stiller : 'Doing comedy is scary'", The Independent, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-12-22.
- ^ The Nation
- ^ [4]
- ^ 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."
- ^ Stilley - [5] "...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.""
- ^ Profile at Jewishsports.com
- ^ Jewish Bulletin of Northern California:On being asked about Christmas, because of the Santa Claus related The Polar Express, he stated "We have a Jewish household. I converted when I married Lisa."
- ^ Jewish Bulletin of Northern California: "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."
- ^ NIH Profile
- ^ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0748-0814(1989)7%3A1%3C247%3AFMTJCE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-5
- ^ j. - Actress-singer Mare Winningham an unlikely Jewish soul
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=SdwbFx9Dz8EC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=Mary+Doria+Russell+atheist+convert+to+judaism&source= web&ots=B3k3Y1x-zr&sig=V-x23lDfFw5fBjbJIhLQb1jJsEs
- ^ Iranian Muslim converts to Judaism
- ^ 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."
- ^ Fordham University
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ 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."
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia "Obadiah was a proselyte of Edomite origin."
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ BBC
- ^ (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities xx. 7, § 3
- ^ Columbia Encyclopedia
- ^
- Josephus, Jewish Antiquities xiii. 9, § 1; xiv. 4, § 4
- Richard Gottheil, Max Seligsohn (1901-1906). "Edom, Idumaea". The Jewish Encyclopedia 3. Funk and Wagnalls. 40-41. LCCN:16014703. Retrieved on 2005-07-25.
- ^ Smith, Morton. Studies in the Cult of Yahweh. Brill, 1996. p. 277
- ^
- Muir William (Bengal Civil Service). Life of Mahomet Volume I. Smith, Elder, & Co., London, 1861.Section 5: Sketch of the Chief Nomad Tribes in the Centre of the Peninsula: Their conversion to Christianity in the 5th century.
- Anthony Ham, Andrew Madden Saudi Arabia. Lonely Planet, 2004. p. 139
