Nativ

Making it official: Inside the Nativ program training IDF soldiers to 'join the tribe'

Nativ began with a Trustee Committee in 1998 and was adopted as a military program in 2000. To date, over 58,000 soldiers have begun the program, and close to 20,000 have completed conversion.

RAISING THE flag before prayer services in the field.
Soldiers praying at the Kotel in 2013.

'I never had a bar mitzvah,' lone soldiers from Ethiopia to celebrate at the Western Wall

 DANIEL MADMON teaches a class in Jewish history to Nativ conversion students.

Conservative movement suspends its Israel gap-year program, citing budget, recruitment woes

 122 SOLDIERS graduating from the Nativ military conversion program celebrate at the Kotel, May 2022.

Nativ: Helping IDF lone soldiers become halachically Jewish


What will Avi Maoz taking over Nativ mean for former Soviet Union Jews?

Nativ has the authority to determine the eligibility of people wishing to immigrate to Israel from FSU countries pursuant to the Law of Return.

Noam Party leader Avi Maoz poses for a picture at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 19, 2021.

Gov't leaders, LGBTQ+ groups fume over Netanyahu-Avi Maoz agreement

As part of the agreement signed with Maoz, he will serve as head of a new "National Jewish Identity Department," as well as of Nativ, a liaison body for Russian Jewry.

 MK Avi Maoz attends an Arrangements Committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on June 21, 2021

Russian Jews waiting 6 months for aliyah meeting with Nativ

There are between up to 100,000 Ukrainian and Russian citizens who are eligible for aliyah on the outskirts of Ukraine and Russia.

 SOVIET OLIM celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1990 great wave of aliyah, at the Jerusalem Convention Center, 2015.

Israeli Aliyah unit unable to cope with amount of Ukrainian refugees

Sources and refugees claim that the Aliyah visa application process is too slow.

 Ukrainian Jewish refugees arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport, March 6, 2022.

Absorption Ministry: Aliyah organization can't afford immigration influx

The warning came during a talk discussing budget cuts of Nativ, an independent administrative unit in the Prime Minister's Office that is in charge of determining the eligibility to make aliyah.

A child making aliya amid the coronavirus pandemic arrives in Israel from Ukraine on the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews sponsored flight

Aviezer Segal named new CEO of World ORT-Kadima Mada

Avi Ganon, director-general and CEO of World ORT, said, “We are certain that Col. Segal, with his vast knowledge and experience, will be able to contribute greatly to Kadima Mada.”

Aviezer Segal

Who is a convert – again?

Nativ continues to function to this day, with programs both in the civilian and military spheres.

An illustration by Pepe Fainberg