Benjamin Millepied announced his plan to convert to the Jewish faith of his wife, actress Natalie Portman, in an interview published by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday. The couple are currently visiting Israel with their son, Aleph, as Portman works on casting for her directorial debut, a film based on Israeli author Amoz Oz's "A Tale of Love and Darkness," reports Haaretz.
Millepied was quoted on Wednesday as being “in the middle of the conversion process," according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "I hope that soon it will come to an end and I will become a Jew.”
The couple married in a Jewish ceremony in California in 2012. Portman was born in Jerusalem and has retained strong ties to Israel, a place that Millepied said that he "loves" and would like to be a "second home" for the family after they move to Paris later this year. Millepied is due to become director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet, which will allow his wife to immerse herself in his motherland. She has expressed her desire to learn French and possibly become a citizen of France in previous interviews.
Millepied also said that becoming Jewish is "very important" to him, and that he has already "fallen in love with this country," according to the Jerusalem Post.
Mazel tov!
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