Jewish Conversion, Immigration, and Nativism: Episode 521 - Juan Mejia
Juan Mejia, a beloved guest in past episodes of Judaism Unbound (here's Episode 57 and Episode 387), is back! He joins Dan and Lex to reflect on conversion to Judaism -- what has changed in the past 10 years since he initially was a guest on Judaism Unbound, and what remains constant? What parallels can we observe between discourse about Jewish conversion, and discourse about immigration to the United States? What might any of this mean as we look not only at the past 10 years, but the next 10?
[1] Looking to convert to Judaism yourself? Judaism Unbound has a class you can take to begin your journey! Enroll in Judaism Inbound, beginning on February 25th, 2026. Financial aid is available via this link. (And yes, this class is also open to any and all folks who are not looking to convert, but are still interested in an intro to Judaism course for any other reason!).
[2] Listen in to Mejia’s previous appearances on Judaism Unbound via these links — Episode 57: Becoming Jewish on the Web, March 2020: Jews in the Digital Shtetl , and Episode 387: Conversion to Judaism — Beyond Blood Quantum.
[3] For more on Argentina’s chief Sephardic rabbi re-affirming a century-old ban on conversions, see this article in JTA.
[4] Dan references a Talmudic story, where somebody is interested in converting to Judaism due to the cool clothes that the high priest gets to wear during temple sacrifices. Check out the original text in Shabbat 31a.
[5] Listen in to the full song that Juan referenced, from An American Tail — “There are no Cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese.”
[6] For the classic gefilte fish documentary that Lex referenced, see Gefilte Fish, a short film created by Karen Silverstein in 1984.