600 Conservative Rabbis Protest Bibi ‘Betrayal’ Over Orthodox Control
Image by getty images
More than 600 rabbis affiliated with the Conservative movement have signed a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protesting the country’s lack of recognition and support for non-Orthodox Jewish movements.
“We ask you to lead; we ask you to fulfill your promise to us that Israel will be the homeland of the entire Jewish people – Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and secular,” wrote the group of rabbis ahead of the High Holy Days.
Calling Netanyahu’s actions a “betrayal,” the letter-signers pointed to Netanyahu’s choice to freeze a deal for an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall and bills that would strip recognition from non-Orthodox Jewish conversions performed abroad.
“We find it unconscionable that Israel, the Jewish State, is the only democratic state in the world in which not all Jews are recognized or supported equally under the law or in the public square,” the letter wrote, addressing the conversion question.
Organized by Rabbi Steve Wernick, president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, as well as Rabbinical Assembly leader Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the letter was presented by the two to New York consul-general Dani Dayan.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
