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
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Community Sorry, Netanyahu: The Diaspora Won’t Take This Betrayal Lying Down
On the morning of July 12, I read a piece in the Opinion Page of the New York Times titled “Israel to American Jews: You Just Don’t Matter” by Thomas L. Friedman. In this piece, Friedman states that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu has yielded to the whims of the Orthodox and has basically…
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Fast Forward Conservative Jewish Leader Warns Of ‘Distancing’ Between Israeli, Diaspora Jews
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli and Diaspora Jewry are in a “very precarious place,” the head of the Conservative movement in the United States warned members of Israel’s Knesset. Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, spoke Tuesday in front of the Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, which was…
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Opinion There’s No Easy Answer To The Debate Over Intermarriage
The debate over intermarriage — once again erupting across the Jewish community — has too easily slipped into a binary equation. Opinions are shared, statistics are drawn as weapons and institutions often double-down. Sides are chosen, often reduced to a simple yes or no: “No, never; Jewish Law forbids this.” (Or “no, never; it will…
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Opinion ‘This Is Not The Moment,’ To Lift Our Ban On Performing Interfaith Weddings
The Jewish Theological Seminary affirms that the study of Torah, the sacred wisdom of our people, and the performance of mitzvot, Judaism’s sanctified pattern of religious practice, stand at the very core of Jewish identity. Torah and mitzvot have always been the foundation of the Jewish people’s covenant with God, guiding and sustaining us for…
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Opinion The Conservative Movement Will Inevitably Cave On Intermarriage
Reading Rabbi Julie Schonfeld’s recent defense of Conservative Judaism’s ban on rabbis performing intermarriages, my primary sentiment was one of sadness. Why, though? It was not that I disagreed with her; on the contrary, I echo many of her sentiments and agree with her bottom line that performing mixed-faith marriages is a red line that…
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Opinion How Interfaith Weddings Got This Rabbi Kicked Out Of The Conservative Movement
In her article “A Wedding Invitation Like No Other,” Jane Eisner describes “intermarriage” as the “oozing story” among Conservative Jews, a story “found just below the surface.” I am one of the rabbis she describes as “not so quietly defying the restriction against officiating” at a marriage ceremony involving a Jewish person and a non-Jew….
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Opinion The Problem With Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s Intermarriage Proposal
In his recent proposal to marry Jews and non-Jews under certain circumstances, Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie explores a phenomenon of modern life in which non-Jews are inspired to participate in very positive ways in the life of the Jewish community out of their love of the Jews in their families. There is broad agreement that these…
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Letters USCJ Responds to Intermarriage Proposal
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s research, analysis and essay on officiating at an interfaith wedding is interesting. It is clear that his proposal comes from a place of thoughtfulness and love of Judaism, the Jewish people and those connected to them. Rabbi Lau-Lavie, like all of us, is struggling with our generation’s most complex problem: how do…
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