A piece of news recently circulated online, announcing that the rapper Kanye West is planning to convert to Judaism to avoid accusations of antisemitism.

Three notes on this topic:

1. Our short article is not at all about Kanye West’s opinions and statements. Even if there is much to write about on this topic, it is not our topic here and now.

2. “Antisemitism” is, by definition, directed against a very specific group of people: Originally – those of the “Semitic” race, but in common usage today – against those who ethnically belong to Judaism. These are not necessarily the exact same ones whose *faith* is the Jewish religion. The Nazis, for example, knew this well and were not at all interested in watching their victims’ kosher habits, but rather the genetics of their victims’ ancestors.

3. But here is the main issue: Can a person “convert” to Judaism based on a decision that has no basis in their beliefs? To put it more simply: To avoid accusations of antisemitism, will Kanye West start to truly believe that Elijah the prophet ascended to heaven in a storm, that Moses delivered the Jewish “Talmud” to Joshua, and that God is carefully checking him to make sure he doesn’t eat cheeseburgers or have sex with a woman on her period?

Recently, we have been increasingly using terms like “religious conversion” as if it was a technical process with definite physical aspects. The Spanish Inquisition tried to “convert” supposedly anti-Christians through torture. Did the tortured people who supposedly accepted Christianity – suddenly start believing that Jesus walked on water? Hamas, it is said, tried to “convert” several Israeli hostages to Islam. So, if they mumble the series of words that constitute an entrance to Islam, does that mean they now believe that Muhammad was a prophet and rode his horse from Mecca to Jerusalem in a matter of minutes? And many immigrants to Israel who convert to strict Judaism – do they do this to gain what a Jew in Israel politically deserves, or do they suddenly also believe in the prophet Elijah’s ascension to heaven?