Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks and Dayan Menachem Gelley, senior dayan of the London Beth Din, are to take part in a lecture series next month on one of the controversial contemporary topics - conversion.

They are among speakers who feature in a seven-part course on "understanding conversion" beginning next Wednesday night at the London School of Jewish Studies in Hendon.

On June 2, Lord Sacks will examine attitudes to converts. Dayan Gelley, who heads the body responsible for most Orthodox conversions in the UK, will conclude the series with a look at "issues and challenges" in the conversion process.

The full course also includes the spiritual head of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, Rabbi Abraham Levy, who will speak on the differences in the Sephardi approach.

LSJS chief executive Rafi Zarum said it was "committed to encouraging more informed public debate. The new course will look at the history, philosophy, politics and practicalities of conversion in the Jewish tradition and, for the very first time, will be taught by the leading rabbis involved in the process."