Wait...you're saying I'm not a Jew?

One thing I've found out about converting to Judaism: what goes on in Israel suddenly becomes your problem.

No, the heads of state won't call you for advice. But, in and out of synagogue, people expect you to have strong opinions.

Don't mistake me--of course I'm grateful that Israel exists. And I pray for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. But you know what? That's the extent of my opinion on Israel's problems. And I'll be damned if I'm going to put any more energy into them.

Why should I? Israel doesn't even recognize me as a Jew.

That's right. Because I converted under a Conservative rabbi and beit din--a rabbinical court--Israel doesn't consider me Jewish. Even though my conversion was quite traditional and included a mikvah, I'm not a Jew in the eyes of Israel's government.

Can you tell that this rankles?

Some people have advised me to get an Orthodox conversion in order to square myself with Israel. But I won't do that. Nothing against the Orthodox, but I regard my conversion as fully valid. If I sought out an Orthodox rabbi, it would be as if I were saying there was something wrong with my Conservative conversion.

Besides, I'm an American, not an Israeli. I'm not planning to move to Israel, so it's a moot point. So maybe I shouldn't bother getting so angry about this.

Sigh...

Look, once I spend some time in Israel, I've no doubt that I'll feel a great deal of affection for the country--the same sort of affection I feel for my ancestral Ireland. But I'm not going to claim Israel's problems as my own. I'm just going to keep praying that cooler heads prevail over there and that they manage to forge a just, lasting peace between all parties.

But that's it--leave me out of the details.