On February 22, 2002, the Supreme Court of the State of Israel ruled that the state must officially recognize conversions to Judaism by Reform and Conservative groups, the Associated Press reported. The effect of the ruling seems limited for now but it would require the Interior Ministry to identify those converted by non-Orthodox rabbis as Jews in the "nationality" clause on their ID cards, AP said. But the Orthodox Jewish establishment in charge of marriages, divorces and burials for Jews could continue to refuse services to such converts. Still, secular and non-Orthodox religious groups called the decision an important step for equality for their movements. The Conservative, Reform and other more-liberal Jewish movements are dominant in the United States but marginal there.

Ordinarily, Orthodox Judaism does not seek converts, and prospective converts usually must pass a period of study and a conversion procedure before a religious court. Chief Rabbi Israel Yisrael Meir Lau said the court had interfered with centuries of tradition and warned that "the decision will totally confuse those converts whose conversion is not according to (Orthodox) Jewish law" because it raised expectations that could not be met. The ruling would also apparently distinguish between non-Orthodox conversions performed abroad or in Israel for purposes of acquiring citizenship, since those converted by non-Orthodox rabbis inside the country would still not necessarily be eligible for automatic citizenship under Israel's "Law of Return" for Jews, AP noted.

American Reform Jewish leader Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch praised the decision. "For the first time in the history of Israel, the Supreme Court is compelling the government to recognize the Reform movement," he told the AP. He said that he saw the ruling as a step toward strengthening Jewish unity worldwide.