Toni Airaksinen: It's Official — I Converted To Judaism

Dear friends,

Last night, on the Shabbat of Behar-Bechukotai, the 26th of Iyyar, 5785, I officially converted to Judaism. After studying Judaism in Brooklyn for 2 years when I lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn, I moved to an area without a temple for almost 4 years to recover from anorexia. But after October 7th happened, I knew I needed to go back.

There are many reasons why I’ve converted, some of which I’ll cover in a following essay when the dizzyness and excitment of the day finally calms down (I could barely sleep last night, I was so pumped. I still am. I want to shout it from the rooftops!)
I’ve written over 400 (close to 500) articles related to antisemitism in the last 10 years. People often assume I’m Jewish already, and I’ve always got hate-mail for “being a Jew.” I assume people inferred that due to my relentless focus on antisemitism and the October 7th attack on Israel, but I wasn’t Jewish until yesterday.

I must thank my rabbi, my chosen family, and everyone at Temple Sinai of Delray Beach Florida, including my mentor and guide, Rabbi Moss. I also thank all the organizations, nonprofits, social media groups and others who work tirelessly to defend Jewish statehood and fight antisemitism.

You’ll be hearing more from me soon.
And thank you to everyone who has been following along on my journey 💙

Toni (Mazelit Liel Yocheved)

Toni Airaksinen is Senior Editor of Liberty Affair and an independent journalist based in Boca Raton, Florida. Follow her on X @Toni_Airaksinen, and on Instagram.