Gay Issue Prompts Seminary Rabbi To Quit
A rabbinic leader has quit the Conservative rabbinical seminary in Israel, reportedly over its policies toward gay students.
Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, a former assistant dean at the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem, resigned over what is alleged to have been an unfulfilled promise by the school to ordain gay students, The Jerusalem Post reported.
“She was promised two years ago when she entered the position that they will ordain LGBT students,” an unnamed source told the Post. “She learned this was not going to be the case two weeks ago and quit.”
Elad-Appelbaum did not respond to requests for comment.
The Schechter Institute, which includes several educational divisions in addition to the rabbinical school, expressed regret over Elad-Appelbaum’s decision to leave.
“Rabbi Elad-Appelbaum contributed enormously to the seminary during her tenure and we wish her every success in her future endeavors,” said Rabbi Hanan Alexander, the chairman of the seminary’s board of trustees.
The place of openly gay rabbis has riven the Conservative movement for years. Following a decision by the movement’s religious law committee, the two Conservative seminaries in the United States moved to admit openly gay students. But the Schechter Institute, the movement’s flagship institution in Israel, thus far has declined to modify its policies barring the admission of gay students.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Trump’s heedless approach to an Iran deal could be a big problem for Israel
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.