The great granddaughter of Heinrich Heine arrived in Israel some time ago and has asked the Tel Aviv rabbinate to be converted to Judaism, the newspaper Yediot Achronot reported today.
The rabbinate refused to reveal the name of the girl, who is 21 and lives with her parents in West Germany. She told the rabbis that she has wanted to become Jewish since she was 16 when she saw a film about the Nazi slaughter of European Jewry. She said that she then learned that her famous great grandfather was born Jewish.
The secretary of the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court said that the girl gave an impression of "a serious personality" and that he had recommended prompt consideration of her request
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
