Interview with R. Benny Lau on Conversion, etc.
At NRG there is an interview (Hebrew) with Rabbi Benny Lau. Rabbi Lau speaks about conversion,, social justice, you name it. This will give you some idea about his thoughts on conversion in Israel.
Q: But according to the halakhah, a pilot cadet whose father is Jewish and mother is Christian is not Jewish.
A: I don’t agree. I can show you halakhic responsa from one hundred and one hundred and fifty years ago that state that if a person sacrifices himself for the sake of Israel, he is designated first and foremost as someone who has chosen the people of Israel. If a person becomes a combat soldier and is prepared to lie down night after night waiting in ambush, his entry certificate to conversion is different from someone who comes for other reasons, since he has already chosen the people of Israel and is ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the people of Israel.
Photograph from Makor Rishon.