Of course people would say I am biased. But honestly, if you’re going to convert in EY. Go to a Chareidi Beis Din. The Badatz Eida Chareidis in Yerushalayim and R’ Nissim Karelitz’ beis din in Bnei Brak are the major ones).

A conversion process is not a simple thing. Not for the convert, but also not for the rabbonim doing your beis din. Rav Pinchas Toledano of London (and I think he’s also the Ruv of the sefardim in Amsterdam) explained it like this: “A born Jew is not responsible for his aveiros until he reaches the age of bar mitzvah. His father is the one responsible. But a convert doesn’t have this. So the rabbonim overseeing his conversion are.”

Performing a geirus on someone requires the knowledge of lots and lots of halachos. We have a (authoritative halachic) sefer in our home discussing all these halachos with footnotes, etc. It’s a huge and thick sefer. There quite a lot of discussion on how to perform a conversion to the best of our abilities.

The differences with the [State-]Rabbanut and, for instance, the Badatz, is that the Rabbanut relies more on ‘heterim’ (if you can call them even like that). They usually rely more on the less-strict requirements. With as result you get the problems they have these days with their conversions.

Whereas by the Chareidi conversions, they only go for the strictest of opinions on halacha. They want to be sure everything is done 200% correct. To give you an example: I have a friend who got a date for his conversion by the Badatz. On the said date he came at Rav Brandsdorfer’s office in Mea Shearim but he was told to come back another day. Why? Because one of the three dayanim was sick.

Now, according to most poskim a conversion will be fully kosher even with only two dayanim! But there is a Rambam which says, one has to have three dayanim. Not less. And Rav Meir Brandsdorfer zt”l was of the opinion they had to be as machmir as possible in the case of conversions.

On the other hand, I personally have also heard of people who first did a geirus through the rabbanut and later did a l’chumra through one of the chareidi batei din, how the Rabbanut is not always that makpid on a lot of things like these.

So to clear up any possible confusion before it arises. I’m not saying that converts of the Rabbanut are not Jewish, or… less Jewish - G’d forbid. I’m just explaining why, if you’d ask me where to do a geirus, I would tell you to do it by a Chareidi beis din.

The only problem is, that you can convert through the Eida Chareidis, live a real holy and pure life of Torah U’Mitzvos, dress in the Chassidishe levush (dress), have a beard and peyos, etc… But for the State of ‘Israel’ will still be just a ‘goy’. For the State you will be a goy like any other goy.. Just as goyish as Abbas or Obama.

The State refuses to recognize the chareidi conversions. It’s a known thing. And I know several geirim myself of whom the State refuses to accept their conversions.

So, I think that before you decide what to do. You need to find out what your hashkofos are. Where you think you would see yourself in the Jewish world.