This is the Forward’s coverage of Conservative Judaism, one of the three major streams of U.S. Judaism. Conservative Jews are generally more observant than Reform Jews but less so than Orthodox Jews. The movement is led by the…
Conservative Judaism
The Latest
-
Community Why Are Conservative Jews Ignoring Our Own Intermarriage Rate?
Most non-profits try to avoid contested elections and just push through a nominating committee report. But sometimes there’s an issue that can’t be shoved aside, a philosophical dispute with the potential to clarify the institution’s mission and meaning. That seems to be the case this year at my professional association, the Rabbinical Assembly — the…
-
Fast Forward Conservative Movement CEO Rabbi Steven Wernick Stepping Down
The umbrella group of Conservative Judaism announced Wednesday that its leader will be stepping down from his position. Rabbi Steven Wernick, who has served as CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism since 2009, will not seek a renewal of his contract when it expires in 2019, the movement announced on Wednesday. “We are…
-
News EXCLUSIVE: Rabbis Who Favor Ban On Intermarriage Challenge Conservative Leaders
A group of rabbis who support the Conservative movement’s ban on intermarriage are mounting a highly unusual challenge to colleagues who have been hand-picked to assume the leadership of their professional body, the Rabbinical Assembly. The movement, a liberal denomination that adheres to Jewish law, bans intermarriage, but some of its rabbis bitterly oppose the…
-
News First Woman To Lead An American Rabbinical Association Stepping Down
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, who has lead the professional organization for Conservative Judaism’s rabbis since 2009, announced Friday morning that she would leave her post at the end of the year. In a letter to members of the Rabbinical Assembly, the chairman of the group’s board, Rabbi Philip Scheim, wrote that Schonfeld had informed the leadership…
-
Fast Forward Conservative Rabbis Call On Israel To Admit Kenyan Convert
(JTA) — Conservative rabbis have called on Israel to allow a Kenyan convert to study at its yeshiva in Jerusalem. A visa application submitted by Yehudah Kimani last week was rejected by the country’s Interior Ministry. It is the second time that Kimani has been denied entrance to the country. “Kimani is a Jew, converted…
-
News This Jewish Couple Overcame Infertility. Do Their Twins Have To Convert?
The Jewish parents of infant twin boys drove last summer from their home in the Washington, D.C., area to a summer camp in Pennsylvania to perform a conversion for their babies. It was a slightly embellished version of the traditional conversion ceremony: Since both boys were already circumcised, they simply recited a prayer, the Sh’ma,…
-
Community What Is The Debate Over Intermarriage Really About?
About twenty five years ago, I attended my sister-in-law’s marriage to a non-Jew. In other words, I broke a rule of the Rabbinical Assembly, the governing body of Conservative Judaism, thus risking expulsion from the group and professional suicide. A few nights ago, I asked my wife, “Did I know back then that I was…
-
News After A Teen Tour Turned Into An Abuse Nightmare, Waiting On An Apology
Jimmy Cohen was a legend to the 47 Jewish teenagers who rode a big tour bus across the United States together in the summer of 1997. The bus trip, officially Bus B of USY on Wheels, Conservative Judaism’s official teen tour, was a six-week-long excuse for the 16-year-olds to hang out, make friends, make out,…
Explore
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Netanyahu says ‘tragic mishap’ fueled Gaza hospital strikes that killed 20, including 5 journalists
-
Fast Forward Kneecap cancels sold-out US tour, one day after clash with Jewish protesters in Paris
-
News How the online knitting world unraveled over Israel and Gaza
-
Culture The Trump administration says it’s posting ‘banger memes’ — here’s why that’s a problem for Jews
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
