AREA JEWS GAIN STATUS ISRAEL RECOGNIZES ALL WHO CONVERT.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

When Marcy Rainey converted to Judaism she was welcomed with open arms at her Conservative temple in Encino, but under Israeli law she wasn't even recognized as a Jew.

So she and San Fernando Valley Jewish leaders were elated to learn of a landmark decision by Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday to officially recognize conversions to Judaism by Reform and Conservative rabbis, and not just Orthodox ones.

The result: Tens of thousands of American Jews like Rainey may soon be identified as Jews on Israeli ID cards.

``It's exciting. I'm ecstatic,'' said Rainey, of Tarzana, a member of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino who converted in 1994.

``It's a step forward. I know people who have converted and gone to Israel and haven't been able to put Jew on their card. It dampens the experience somehow.''

The effect of the ruling by the 11-justice panel seems very limited for now: It would force the Israeli Interior Ministry to identify those converted by non-Orthodox rabbis as Jews in the ``nationality'' clause on their ID cards.

The Orthodox Jewish establishment that controls marriages, divorces and burials for Jews will likely continue to refuse services to such converts.

Still, secular and non-Orthodox religious groups amid the Valley's 260,000 Jews praised the decision as an important step toward full equality for the Conservative, Reform and other more liberal Jewish movements that are dominant in the United States.

``I think it will be a matter of historical significance, which will affect not only Jews in Israel, but throughout the world,'' said Rabbi Harold Schulweis of Valley Beth Shalom.

``It is a recognition of pluralism, the acceptance of religious diversity and of basic Jewish unity - it's a remarkable event.''

While an exact estimate for the number of converted Jews was difficult to come by Wednesday, Schulweis said there are 50 to 60 converts among the 1,700 families at Valley Beth Shalom and ``tens of thousands'' among America's 6 million Jews.

``Jews from all streams are now recognized as legitimate, without distinction,'' said Rabbi Andy Sacks of the Conservative Movement in Israel. He said his movement expected thousands of conversion applications in coming days.

The Orthodox in Israel, meanwhile, vowed to reverse the ruling - or at least write a bill to identify converts on their IDs as ``Reform Jews'' or ``Conservative Jews'' specifically.

For American Jews, however, the ruling sent an important message in a nation controlled by Orthodox leadership.

``This is a message that's being sent that, 'We're here, we're not going away, we are Jewish and we have a right to be Jewish in the Jewish homeland,'' said Mandy Eisner, regional director of Arza-World Union, North America, the Los Angeles-based Zionist arm of the Reform movement.

``This is the first of many steps, but we've still a long way to go.''

To get married or divorced, non-Orthodox Jews in Israel now must leave the country. For American converts and for the 1 million Russians in Israel, such discrimination has created huge obstacles.

``Any initiative by the government, secular or not, that supports increasing Reform or Conservative support is good news,'' said Rabbi Jim Kaufman of Temple Beth Hillel, a Reform synagogue in Valley Village, which accepts between 10 and 15 converts a year.

``It's extraordinarily significant,'' added Rabbi Alan Henkin of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in Los Angeles, of Wednesday's decision. ``This is really an affirmation of the oneness of the Jewish people.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.