Uriel Heilman
By Uriel Heilman
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News Solomon Schechter Schools May Open Doors to Non-Jews
(JTA) — Synagogues aren’t the only institutions in the Conservative movement changing their policies to become more welcoming to non-Jews and interfaith families. The movement’s school network, Solomon Schechter, is too. Last week, the organization’s board voted to set up a task force to reconsider its admissions policies, which limit enrollment to Jews or non-Jews…
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Israel News Naftali Bennett Touts ‘70% Solution’ for Progress on Thorny Israeli Issues
(JTA) — Naftali Bennett doesn’t like to waste time. In the eight months since he took over three Israeli ministries – religious services, economy, and Diaspora and Jerusalem affairs – Bennett has pushed through legislation to give Israeli couples more freedom in choosing which rabbi officiates at their wedding, worked with coalition partner Yair Lapid…
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News For Conservative Jews, Few Inches Raise Vexing Questions on Interfaith Families
(JTA) — To an outsider, the battles might seem to be over trifles — in some cases, just a few feet. Where may a non-Jewish parent stand in the synagogue during his child’s bar mitzvah? Can a non-Jew open the holy ark? Should non-Jewish synagogue members have voting rights? Such questions have been pushed to…
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Fast Forward Saul Kagan, Founder of Holocaust Claims Conference, Dies at 91
(JTA) — Saul Kagan, the founder and a longtime chief of the Claims Conference, died Saturday at age 91. Kagan helped found the organization in 1951 to be the main vehicle for negotiating with Germany over restitution for Holocaust survivors. In a statement announcing his death, the Claims Conference credited Kagan with securing tens of…
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News Jerry Silverman Promises More Than Talk at Federations General Assembly
(JTA) — This time, it’s not going to be just talking. There’s going to be listening and debating — and, eventually, action. That’s what Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, says will distinguish this year’s General Assembly, which is slated for Nov. 10-12 in Jerusalem, from past G.A. conferences. “We have…
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Fast Forward Conservative Leaders Say They’re Ready For Change As Biennial Conference Looms
(JTA) — When the main synagogue organization of Conservative Jewry gathers this weekend in Baltimore to celebrate its centennial, there will be a lot to talk about. The number of synagogues affiliated with the group, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, is in decline. The proportion of American Jews who identify as Conservative has shrunk…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Who Helped New Orleans Jewish Community Heal Moves to Maryland
(JTA) — It didn’t take long after Rabbi Uri Topolosky moved to New Orleans in 2007 for the moderate Orthodox rabbi to win plaudits for helping the city’s Jewish community heal following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The congregation Topolosky was hired to lead, Beth Israel, had seen its building destroyed during the hurricane and ever…
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News Welcoming Intermarried Couples Is New Priority for Jewish Institutions
When the nation’s largest Jewish federation convened its first-ever conference recently on engaging interfaith families, perhaps the most notable thing about it was the utter lack of controversy that greeted the event. There was a time when the stereotypical Jewish approach to intermarriage was to shun the offender and sit shiva. A generation ago, the…
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