[missyme]

So are you saying if Kerry had a Jewish Mother and Catholic father he does not have to convert?

[Bella_Bru]

This is really simple to understand: If your mother is Jewish, you are halachically Jewish. Halacha=Jewish law. So, if mommy is Jewish then all children born to her will be Jewish according to Jewish law. And if she and daddy raise them right, they will stay Jewish.

If you have a conversion that is halachically correct (beit din with shomer shabbos rabbis, mikvah, and for men circ) you are Jewish according to Jewish law.

The father's religion does not matter. If mom is Jewish, so are her children.

[malakhi]

So are you saying if Kerry had a Jewish Mother and Catholic father he does not have to convert?

That is absolutely correct. He would be a Jew by birth.

According to the article, the Kerrys' paternal grandparents were Jews who converted to Catholicism. Kerry's father's mother was Jewish, so Kerry's father, according to Jewish law, was a Jew by birth. Since John and Cameron's mother was not Jewish, however, they are not halakhically Jewish.