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.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
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.